Read statement below:
Official statement by the National Executive Council of COMOG on Hajj Organisation under the current Management.
11th March, 2025
The National Executive Council of Coalition of Muslim Organizations, Ghana (COMOG) wishes to address issues regarding recent developments in the Hajj Organisation under the current regime. As a representative body of Muslim organisations in Ghana, we wish to provide our observations on the progress made so far and offer our recommendations for improvement in subsequent engagements.
We recall the unfortunate events of last year’s Hajj, where many Ghanaian pilgrims were confronted with unimaginable difficulties. It is obvious that the exorbitant costs of the Hajj package resulted in many individuals seeking alternative, unconventional and unauthorized means to travel to Saudi Arabia. This led to devastating consequences, including the loss of 17 lives, as reported by the National Security Council. Some other pilgrims went missing, hundreds have been bound from entering the Kingdom for number of years and many were unable to perform Hajj due to the challenges they encountered with the Saudi security. .
As Leadership, we felt relieved when we learnt that the Hajj package has been reduced by $2,120. This significant decrease is a welcome development, and we commend the management of Hajj for their efforts in making the pilgrimage more convenient, accessible and affordable for Ghanaian Muslims. Information reaching us indicates that they succeeded in negotiating with the same service providers used by the previous management.
In light of the reduced package, we urge all Ghanaians intending to perform Hajj to patronize the official Hajj management system in Ghana. This will ensure a safe and legitimate journey, avoiding the risks associated with using tourist visas or unauthorized means. We wish to emphasize that the official channels provided will ensure a secure and reliable means of traveling to Saudi Arabia. We therefore wish to encourage all pilgrims to take advantage of this opportunity.
We also commend the Hajj Tasksforce Management body for proposing the construction of a new Hajj Village by a private company in Accra. This initiative has the potential of providing a comfortable and convenient accommodation options for Ghanaian pilgrims, and we support the efforts to enhance the overall Hajj experience.
In addition, we also wish to commend the Foreign Affairs Ministry for introducing the expedited passport processing system for prospective Hajj Pilgrims
While we appreciate the efforts made so far, we also urge the management to involve Muslim stakeholder organizations in decision-making process to ensure a more inclusive and effective management of Hajj operations.
This will enable the management to tap into the expertise and experiences of various stakeholders, ultimately leading to better outcomes for Ghanaian pilgrims.
We wish to call for an investigation into the previous Hajj management which largely compelled our pilgrims to use those unauthorized routes to Makka.
