The Chairman of the five-member interim Hajj Taskforce, Alhaji Collins Dauda, has revealed that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government left behind a public debt of GH₵81,142,899.90 from past Hajj pilgrimage trips.
Alhaji Dauda, who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asutifi South, disclosed this at a press conference on Wednesday. He explained that the amount is owed to various service providers for the pilgrimage.
“The amount is $5,409,536.66 million. I asked the young man around me to convert it into cedis, and he told me it was GH₵81,142,899.90. This is the debt this taskforce has to deal with. There is a company that provides catering service on our pilgrimage in Mecca, the airline that lifted our pilgrims last year, and a company that provides accommodation,” he detailed.
Meanwhile, in fulfillment of President John Mahama’s electoral promise to reduce Hajj fees, Alhaji Dauda announced a reduction from GH₵75,000 last year to GH₵62,000.
“During the 2024 presidential electioneering campaign, John Dramani Mahama, the President of Ghana, pledged to the Muslim community that if he won the elections, he would do everything possible to reduce the Hajj fare. That was to enable our Muslim brothers and sisters to perform the Hajj at a reduced fare. He also committed himself to making Hajj accessible and affordable. We will recall that last year, the fare was set at GH₵75,000,” he stated.
He continued, “Today, I am pleased to announce that President Mahama has been able to honor this commitment. He set up a task force made up of four Muslims to participate in the Hajj conference, which took place in January in Saudi Arabia, and to also have the opportunity to engage our service providers in Saudi Arabia, specifically in Mecca and Madina.
“Through diligent negotiations and collaborations, the task force has successfully secured a significant reduction in the Hajj fare for 2025. Upon the advice of the president, the fare for the 2025 Hajj has been set at GH₵62,000, which is equivalent to $4,130.”
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Listen to him in the audio above: