Veep Expresses Satisfaction On Work Executed By 2014 Hajj Board

The Vice President Kwesi Amissah Arthur, has expressed satisfaction about the hard work executed by the Hajj Board to ensure the smooth organization of the 2014 pilgrimage. Vice President Kwesi Amissah Arthur made the statement when he paid a visit to the Hajj Village in Accra to acquaint himself with the level of preparation of pilgrims. Addressing the pilgrims he said the efficient organization of this year’s exercise was in recognition by the government of how important the Hajj was for every Muslim in the country and that the government sought to ensure that all Muslims were spiritually fulfilled. The first batch of 450 pilgrims to this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca left the country yesterday without the usual hitches that characterized the exercise in the past. Five-thousand five hundred and twenty-four Ghanaian pilgrims are expected to participate in this year’s spiritual exercise which preparations many prospective pilgrims have described as successful. Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur on behalf of the President of Ghana John Dramnai Wished them well on their journey and expressed gratitude to the Saudi Arabia Embassy in Accra for efficiently processing of the travel documents for the pilgrims in a good time. On his part the Chairman of the Hajj Board, Alhaji Ibrahim Rauf Tanko, had earlier said arrangements had been done to ensure that the pilgrims were successfully airlifted to Mecca. He stated that the package for this year included accommodation and transport as well as meals and added that all the pilgrims had been biometrically registered. Each pilgrim had to pay GHc 9, 900 for the trip and the National Airline of Saudi Arabia (NAS) is the accredited airline to airlift the pilgrims. Between now and September 27, 2014 the NAS is expected to airlift passengers daily.

Source: MG