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President John Dramani Mahama has successfully honored a significant promise made during the 2024 presidential election campaign to lower the fare for the Hajj pilgrimage.
Mahama’s dedication to enhancing accessibility for the spiritual journey was a significant topic in his campaign, and with the 2025 pilgrimage approaching, the President’s initiatives to reduce costs have materialized.
The commitment, intended to lighten the financial strain on Muslim Ghanaians, included a vow to lower the expenses of undertaking the Hajj.
“During the 2024 presidential electioneering campaign, John Dramani Mahama, the President of Ghana, pledged to the Muslim community that if he won the elections, he would do everything possible to reduce the hajj fare,” shared Collins Dauda, MP for Asutifi South and the leader of the task force tasked with negotiating the fare reduction.
He continued, “That was to enable our Muslim brothers and sisters to perform the Hajj at a reduced fare.
He also committed himself to making Hajj accessible and affordable.” Last year, the fare for the Hajj pilgrimage was set at GHc75,000, an amount that was considered prohibitively high for many.
In keeping with his promise, President Mahama took concrete steps to address the issue. “I am pleased to announce that President Mahama has been able to honour this commitment,” Dauda said.
The government established a task force consisting of four Muslim members who took part in the Hajj conference that occurred in January in Saudi Arabia.
The task force assigned to collaborate with service providers in Mecca and Medina diligently worked to secure a major fare decrease.
Following successful negotiations and cooperation with Saudi officials, the task force achieved a fare reduction for 2025.
“The fare for 2025 Hajj has been set at GHc 62,000, which is equivalent to $4130,” Dauda revealed.
NKONKONSA.com
