Government Maintains Hajj Fare at GH₵75,000 to Support Muslim Pilgrimage, Says NPP Nasara Coordinator

The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Upper West Regional Deputy Nasara Coordinator, Mohammed Tinklang, has stated that the government has maintained Hajj fare at GH₵75,000 to help the Muslim community embark on Hajj amidst the cedi depreciation and economic hardship.

The Ghana Hajj Board, in January this year, announced that prospective Ghanaian pilgrims to Mecca this year will pay GH₵75,000, the same amount as last year.

“Last year, it was GH₵75,000; it remains the same this year. It is due to the cedi depreciating rapidly against the dollar”, he said.

He stressed that the Vice President and flagbearer of the NPP, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has also given free tickets to some selected Imams in the Upper West Region.

He mentioned the Regional Chief Imam and his Deputy, the Imam of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, and the Imam of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah as some of the beneficiaries.

Mr Tinklang says the government has completed some projects while some are still under construction through the Zongo Development Fund in the Upper West Region.

These projects he mentioned are the construction of libraries for Huriya Islamic Basic School and Tumu Fallahia school, a six-unit classroom block at Jeffisi in the Sissala West District, a six-unit classroom block at Hamile Fallahia and a six-unit classroom at Tabiasi in the Daffiama- Bussie- Issa District.

“There is an ongoing 10-seater public toilet project in Ullo chief palace in the Jirapa municipality,” he added.

He noted that the Jamiat Islamic Girls Senior High School fence wall project that has been the cry of the chiefs and religious leaders in Wa for some time now is 90 per cent completed.

Speaking to Info Radio on Dr Bawumia’s visit to the region, he stated that some supporters of the opposition NDC were happy to see the flagbearer of the NPP in the Upper West Region. 

He expressed confidence that the NDC supporters will vote for the NPP in the upcoming December 7 elections.

He rejected the claims from the opposition NDC that the Vice President was not well-received in the region.

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, as part of his nationwide campaign tour, was in the Upper West Region from May 19 to May 20, 2024.