Vice President of Imani Africa, Bright Simons, has given a detailed explanation of how the government of Ghana become an integral part of the “Ghanaian Hajj Program.”
He explained that the pilgrimage requires great logistical coordination as many of these pilgrims have never travelled outside their own countries before, many are of low means and education and many are not otherwise qualified for visas to enter Saudi Arabia.
According to him, it is true that Muslims in a country can organise themselves into groups and through their federated councils secure a visa quota and engage tour operators to arrange the travel without government involvement.
He indicated that Ghana has tried this system before but it failed woefully.
“Not so our beloved Ghana. When we left the process unregulated, it became a complete disaster. Some tour groups ran away with the money. Pilgrims were left stranded at airports, sleeping rough. Other passengers were thus heavily inconvenienced. Squatters took advantage and poured into airport facilities. Crime then started to fester. A sanitation crisis erupted.”
“Some Muslims that made it to Saudi got stranded because accommodation was not booked on time by agents; transportation was bungled; and return flights delayed until visas expired, leading to immigration violations. The Saudi government threatened several times to cancel Ghana’s quota etc.”
“So the government decided to adopt the model used by many countries with a sizeable Muslim population and regulate the process by appointing a Hajj Board on the advice of the national Chief Imam to coordinate the entire point of origin activities,” he wrote on X.
Unlike Russia and some other non-Muslim majority countries, Ghana does not implement a uniform subsidy for all pilgrims to cover transport and accommodation, he further detailed.
Bright Simons noted that Ghana’s contributions are limited to regulations, logistics support (such as the Hajj terminal), security and coordination.
“Just as our Police forces do not charge outdoor event organisers for security, unlike what pertains in some European countries, we don’t charge pilgrims for similar courtesies either. Ordinary pilgrims pay in excess of $4000 to sponsor themselves. No subsidised Aeroflot flights, as is the case in Russia, or chits as is the case in Ethiopia.”
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Every year, around about this time, with just a little over 5 months before pilgrims are due to depart, folks start complaining about state involvement in the organisation of the Ghanaian Hajj program. Often without understanding how the current process came to be. I’m tired of…
— Bright Simons (@BBSimons) March 3, 2025
