Pilgrims at the Hajj village
Complaints about poor management of Hajj 2025 by pilgrims have marred this year’s operations.
One hundred and forty-five (145) paid-up prospective pilgrims could not make it to Saudi Arabia yesterday when the aircraft took off with the last batch of pilgrims of two hundred and eighty (280) instead of four hundred and twenty-five (425).
One hundred and sixty (160) visas were cancelled due to reapplication and consistent cancellations from the visa application system.
What this means is that 160 paid-up and protocol prospective pilgrims are currently in possession of visas which have been cancelled in the visa application system.
Some staff of the Pilgrims Affairs Office of Ghana, especially in the IT Department, cannot go because their visas have been cancelled to pave way for protocol pilgrims.
The Head of Communications of the Hajj Taskforce has rendered an apology to stakeholders over the poor performance, with a promise that it won’t happen again.
Mounting complaints have ranged from poor accommodation to unsatisfactory feeding arrangements in Saudi Arabia.
Social media has been abuzz with such complaints, especially from pilgrims who had landed in Madina and Mecca.
One of the pilgrims said they had been accommodated in an abandoned hospital, claim which cannot be substantiated though.
Being an arid country, Saudi Arabia experiences extreme weather conditions such as excessive heat and cold.
Some pilgrims have complained about lack of air-conditioners in their hotel rooms.
There have also been complaints about hotels too far apart, thus denying pilgrims the opportunity of meeting their family members.
An entry on the taskforce’s Facebook page about insufficient medical drugs was quickly deleted.
This year’s poor management of the Hajj was on the floor of Parliament last Tuesday when the First Minority Chief Whip, Habib Iddrisu dealt with the subject.
According to him, although there was a reduction in the cost of the Hajj package, this did not manifest in the quality of services rendered pilgrims.
He told the House how pilgrims had taken to social media to complain about their plights.
The expression of apology by the Head of Communications of the Hajj Taskforce, A.B.A. Fuseini, according to him, was an admission of failure on the part of the taskforce. This, he added, was a systematic failure.
He slammed the mass exit of the previous management of the Hajj, saying this has denied the taskforce of the necessary institutional memory needed to serve as an impetus for its operations.
Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, did not agree with his colleague, saying that the Head of the Hajj Taskforce, Collins Dauda, should be commended for a job well done. The President too should be commended for reducing the Hajj fare, he added.
Another evidence of this year’s Hajj operations, he said, was the fact that refunds were going to be made to paid-up pilgrims who could not obtain their travel visas.
Over two hundred (200) paid-up prospective pilgrims will not be able to make the trip this year.
One of the challenges of this year’s Hajj has to do with visa acquisition. It has been alleged that in order to satisfy the many protocol ticket beneficiaries, visa swapping took place.
It has also been alleged by some pilgrims in Saudi Arabia that they were embarrassed by party foot soldiers, as they communicated with those at home about their plight in Saudi Arabia.
Hajia Halima Akompa, while on Baina TV, said members of the taskforce should be replaced by Alhaji Tanko Abdul Rauf, one time head of Hajj operations under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration.
A power outage disrupted activities during the pre-departure formalities yesterday, reported a certain Hajia Amina, who was in the queue at the Hajj Village. “We are yet to receive our boarding passes but because of the power outage we are still stuck here. The place is very hot. We have gone through all the procedures except the issuance of boarding passes.”
A certain Sadiya of Libyan Quarters, Madina, Accra, reacted on social media thus: “I am an NDC faithful and live at Libya Quarters. I have not received any appointment yet I serve the party. President John Mahama, you know I love you. Please dissolve the taskforce and bring back Alhaji Tanko Rauf. The taskforce has failed ‘kportor’. The missing protocol tickets is awful. I know a lot about the development. The greed is too much and it is the reason governments fail. We campaigned for the party, we would not allow anybody to spoil our administration. We would not tolerate people who would create a situation where Ghanaians would start complaining about such selfish interests of individuals.”
A certain Hajia Memuna from Wa told DAILY GUIDE that “I was told to go to Tamale for my flight, but that was not to be. I came to Accra as I was told, but here too my place has been swapped for a protocol ticket holder. This is not fair. I left my base for the past two weeks and here in Accra I have been sleeping in the Hajj Village mosque. My passport has not been located yet. When I get it I would return to Wa. I have been told that my refund would be given after the return of the team from this year’s Hajj. I am disappointed in this government.”
National Security personnel and other security agencies were deployed to the Hajj Village due to the rising tension occasioned by the inability of paid-up persons to be airlifted. Some persons spotted recording the happenings at the Village had their mobile devices seized and their contents deleted.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah
Ghanaian business mogul Dada Joe
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