Ghana Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alhaji Mohammed Habib Tijani has commended officials of the Ghana Hajj Board for being proactive in the provision of better hospitality services for Ghanaian pilgrims.
According to him, pilgrims arriving in Saudi Arabia to perform this year’s Hajj have so far been well-catered for, but added that “there is room for improvement.”
He indicated that accommodation facilities have been secured for Ghanaian pilgrims close to the mosque of the Holy Prophet Muhammad to make activities of worship easier and less stressful.
He said Ghana was among countries like Iraq, Iran, Indonesia, and Malaysia that secured accommodation facilities close to the Holy Mosque in Madinah.
Ambassador Habib Tijani at a meeting with officials of the Hajj Board and the Coordinator for Housing between Saudi Arabia in Madinah at the Madinah International Airport, assured that his office and other officials will ensure that Ghanaian pilgrims are comfortable throughout the process.
He added that the Embassy of Ghana in Saudi Arabia and the Consulate of Ghana will work closely with the Hajj Board to provide better hospitality services for Ghanian pilgrims.
He further said, “We would wish that we get better services than what we have, although this is considered as very good services. We will still expect more. We are hoping that what we are going to see in Makkah will be good. If it is not good, we will do everything to make it better than what we are seeing here next year”.
Alhaji Tijani is hopeful that the number of Ghanaian pilgrims will increase in subsequent years if the COVID-19 pandemic goes away.
He said Ghana had over 20,000 prospective pilgrims struggling for 3,069 places, indicating that people will certainly be aggrieved looking at the situation.
“There was no way everybody could be in Hajj this year. We are praying that Allah should make it possible and take away the Covid-19 pandemic so that in subsequent years we will have full capacity and possibly more than the 6,000 capacity we have been getting”, he noted
Ghana Government under the leadership of Sheikh I.C Quaye, Chairman of the Hajj Board, Osumanu Alidu Manaf as Administrator, Hamza Farouk as Director of finance, and Alhaji Sumaila Ismail as a Board member according to the Ambassador has been proactive in providing better services for Ghanaian pilgrims.
Also present at the meeting was Dr. Adam Umar Nanaye, the mediator between the Ghana Hajj board and the Coordination of Housing in Madinah.
