General News of Saturday, 21 October 2017
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
2017-10-21
Abdulai Rahman Alhassan Gomda, Public Relations Officer of the National Hajj Board
The National Hajj Board has dissociated itself from the transaction and fraudulent activity of one of their officials who is reported to have extorted some large amounts of money from pilgrims with the promise of facilitating their trip for the just ended pilgrimage.
The Public Relations Officer of the National Hajj Board, Abdulai Rahman Alhassan Gomda, who revealed this in a statement stated that interested pilgrims were asked to make payments to a Unibank Hajj account number, accredited Hajj agents or directly at the Hajj village for receipts.
He added that the board made it clear that “anybody who dealt with officials without going through the appropriate manner did so at their own risk”.
“The Ghana Hajj Board is a reputable agency which frowns at acts of seeming criminality and would therefore not associate themselves with this criminality,” he noted
The board is further advising those who have fallen victims of such acts to revert to appropriate agencies for redress as they won’t be refunding victims nor cover any official.
The statement follows a report accusing a member of the board’s communication team, Zakaria Rahman, of collecting money from prospective pilgrims who could not travel to Mecca.
Four women reported Rahman to two separate police stations in Accra – Airport and Nima Police Stations – over his inability to acquire Visas and flight tickets for them to travel to Saudi Arabia to observe the Holy pilgrimage this year.
Rahman allegedly took Gh¢11,800 each (Gh¢23,800) plus passports from two of the four women who have lodged complaint at the Airport Police Station, promising to facilitate their travel to the Holy Land but went AWOL till the Hajj was over.
Rahman confessed to Starrfmonline.com that he took the monies from the women, adding that “it was a last minute move and unfortunately things did not work out.”
Find the statement from the Hajj Board below
Statement On ‘Hajj Visa’ Scandal
The Ghana Hajj Board have observed with consternation a story about an official of their Communications Department’s act of indiscretion regarding monies he allegedly collected from prospective pilgrims with a view to facilitating their trip for the just ended pilgrimage and wish to dissociate themselves from the transaction and the associated negative fallouts.
The Ghana Hajj Board wish to recall their unambiguous statement on the modalities for the payment of the Hajj package three-pronged arrangement which were through a stated Unibank Hajj account number, accredited Hajj agent or directly at the Hajj Village transactions which generated receipts.
Anybody who dealt with officials of the Hajj Board whose purview excluded such transactions did so at their own risk. It is on this score that we wish to state unequivocally that we have nothing to do with Zak Rahman and others who may find themselves in a similar predicament.
The Ghana Hajj Board is a reputable agency which frowns at acts of seeming criminality and would therefore not associate themselves with same.
The Ghana Hajj Board wish to advise those who have had their fingers burnt through such unauthorized persons to revert to the appropriate state agency for redress as we have nothing to do with same.
Any official of the board who breached the foregone standards should refund same as we would not cover such persons under any circumstance.
A.R. Gomda
Head, Communications
Ghana Hajj Board
October 21, 2017.
