The Federation of Muslim Councils, Ghana has called on the Ghana Hajj Board to as a matter of urgency, publish details of theGH¢75,000 ($6,500), being charged as 2023 Hajj fare for transparency.
It said the controversy surrounding fare and the silence of the Board of the raving issue was brewing mistrust and suspicion in Muslim communities across the country.
This was contained in a statement signed and issued by the Secretary-General of the Federation, Al-Hajj Muhammad Nii Kpakpo Addo in Accra yesterday and copied to the Ghanaian Times.
It said the leadership of the Federation of Muslim Councils has taken keen interest in public discussions surrounding the 2023 Hajj fare as announced by the Ghana Hajj Board.
"The US $6,500fare has been described variously as "killer fare," "inflated," "unrealistic" and "the highest in the West Africa sub-region," backed with calls for a review of the amount," it said.
However, the statement said it was sad that the Ghana Hajj Board has not responded to the many calls for a review of the fare nor heeded to calls to engage stakeholders to explain the determination of the fare.
"This posture of the Hajj Board is fanning suspicions and eroding public confidence in the Board," it said and called for immediate response to the issues.
Earlier this month, the Hajj Board announced that prospective pilgrims for this year's Hajj were required to pay the GH¢75,000 by April 30 to book their slots, the Ghana Hajj Board has announced.
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It said although the deadline for payment of this year's fee was April 30, pilgrims were expected to pay by March 31 to avoid paying a different exchange rate.
The fare generated calls for review from various stakeholders including the Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini who said the fare was the highest in the sub-region and will prevent some members of the Muslim community from honouring their religious obligations.
This year's Hajj rituals would commence from the evening of Sunday, June 25, and continue till the evening of Friday, June 30.
This is the tentative date as the actual date is contingent on the sighting of the moon of Dhul Hijjah, 1444, the 12th and last month of Islamic Calendar.
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. Hajj is a duty on every adult, sane, free Muslim who is capable of performing it once in a lifetime.
A capable person is one who can afford the trip, both financially and health-wise. Hajj rituals are performed between the 8th and 13th day of the month of Dhul Hijjah.
