First batch of Ghanaian pilgrims leaves Dec 7

Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
THE first batch of 362 Ghanaian pilgrims, all of them part of the 499 who could not embark on the journey last year, are expected to leave for Saudi Arabia at dawn today to perform the pilgrimage (Hajj).
In all, 2,700 Ghanaians are expected to perform this year’s Hajj, which starts on December 18, 2007.
The Interim Hajj Management Committee (IHMC) has contracted ALAMA Airline of Libya to airlift the pilgrims with two aircraft. The bigger aircraft with a 467-passenger capacity is expected to make three trips, while the smaller one, which takes 362 passengers is, on the other hand, expected to make four trips.
Meanwhile, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Accra had declined to give visas to 300 other prospective Ghanaian pilgrims, claiming that it had exhausted the 2,700 quota for Ghana this year.
The embassy had already issued 2,700 visas and returned the passports of the remaining 300 pilgrims to the Interim Hajj Management Committee (IHMC) on Thursday.
The Chairman of the IHMC, Ustaz Seidu Ahmed, told the Daily Graphic that his outfit thought that the quota was 3,000 and worked towards it, but the Saudi Embassy officials said they received instruction from the Saudi Arabian Hajj authorities that Ghana’s quota had been pegged at 2,700.
He said his outfit had written a letter through the Ghana Ambassador to Saudi Arabia requesting the extension of the quota.
Ustaz Ahmed said the Ghanaian diplomats had informed the committee that the letter had reached the Saudi Arabian Minister of Hajj Affairs, and was hopeful that they would receive favourable response.
Besides, he said, there had been some intervention moves from “high levels” to get the Saudi Arabian authorities to increase the quota.
Ustaz Ahmed indicated that the 300 prospective pilgrims who could not secure the visas had paid just before the October 10, 2007 deadline for the payment of Hajj fares.
He gave the assurance that if the committee failed to secure the visas for the 300 prospective pilgrims, the committee would refund their monies to them.
Reports indicated that about 500 would-be pilgrims could not secure the visas, but he insisted that only 300 people had paid to the committee.
The acting Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Hajj Agents Association, Alhaji Issah Umar Suleiman, confirmed to the Daily Graphic that the Saudi Arabian Embassy had refused the visas of 300 prospective pilgrims who had paid through them.
He, however, appealed to the relevant authorities to intervene to have the quota increased in order to guard against disappointing the 300 would-be pilgrims.