CALL ON PRESIDENT TO INTERVENE IN HAJJ ORGANISATION (PAGE 29)

A resident of Tamale and Kalarigi Na, Alhaji S. Y. Orlando, has passionately appealed to the President, John Kufuor, to personally intervene to ensure the proper organisation of the Muslim pilgrimage.
He said even though the problem was a Muslim affair, it had become necessary for the President to use his wisdom to ensure the smooth organisation of the pilgrimage, since those entrusted with that task had continuously messed up the programme over the years.
Alhaji Kalarigi Na, who is also the assembly member for Dakpem Fong Ward F Electoral Area in Tamale, has meanwhile recommended a review of the composition of the Hajj Board to include representatives from all the 10 regions.
He also suggested that the government should nominate between five and seven persons in addition to the regional representatives to the board.
‘‘This proposed composition will make the board more broad-based and acceptable to the entire Muslim community of the country,” he said, and added that the would-be pilgrims would be more familiar and comfortable to approach their regional representatives when there was a problem.
The assembly member said in a situation where a member did not live up to expectation, he or she could be replaced with a more competent person.
He bemoaned the difficulties and sufferings pilgrims had to endure annually to fulfil a religious obligation to visit Mecca.
‘‘The efforts of your government in rectifying the past anomalies culminated in the birth of the present board and yet we are still bedevilled with the same problems,’’ Alhaji Kalarigi Na noted.
He attributed the difficulties partly to the fact that almost all members of the board were based in Accra and that the pilgrims, who came from various parts of the country, were not familiar with the board members who were supposed to represent their interests.
According to the assembly member, even after the performance of the Hajj rituals, when the pilgrims were physically and financially exhausted, their woes were deepened further, as they were confronted with the problem of carrying their luggage home.
‘‘Most members of the board who accompany the pilgrims leave with the first aircraft with their luggage while the pilgrims are left with their agents to struggle with Airport officials,’’ he alleged.
As a result, most of the pilgrims came without their luggage and, therefore, had to wait for several weeks and months before taking delivery of them.
‘‘Your Excellency, I pray you give an ear to this proposal, because I believe when accepted and implemented, the greater majority of Muslims in the country would welcome and appreciate your intervention,’’ Alhaji Kalarigi Na entreated.