By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
Out of a total of 1,200 (one thousand, two hundred) slots allocated to the Government of Sierra Leone for this year’s Hajj, only 640 (six hundred and forty) which is about 65% of the quota of intending pilgrims are set to attend Hajj in the Holy land of Mecca.
The aforementioned number of intending pilgrims includes those without fault that are paying for themselves, Government assistance or scholarships, and the 129 (one hundred and twenty-nine) pilgrims that did not attend last year’s Hajj due to unforeseen circumstances.
This announcement was made by the Presidential Task Force for Hajj at the weekly Ministry of Information and Communications Press briefing at Youyi Building on the 18th of May 2023.
In his statement, the Chairman of the Task Force Alhaji Murtada M. Sesay noted that since 2018 the processes and commitment of the government towards the Hajj have remained quite sturdy and consistent. He said President Julius Maada Bio directed that it would be more reliable to set up a Taskforce that would have the authority to take action outside the usual bureaucracy and infrastructural limitations of government and that its architecture is based on strategic institutional representation.
He added that rolling out the Hajj programme generally involves generating numerous formal communications with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He said they have already seen positive outcomes since they commenced their work, noting that they are well underway with the implementation of the process this year.
“With the step of setting up a Taskforce and depending on the lessons learned this year, we may also be moving towards an independent Hajj Commission in the near future,” he said.
Chairman Sesay stated that this year’s Hajj team will depart Sierra Leone during the week of 17, 18, or 19 June 2023 and return early the second week of July 2023. He also said that, since this year’s pilgrims will not be in the country for the forthcoming elections, therefore the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) now has a legislative instrument in place that will allow eligible citizens to early voting for which the visa is a requirement.
He added that the basic cost per pilgrim to attend the Hajj is $ 6,700 (six thousand-seven hundred United States Dollars) or its equivalent in Leone which covers air and local transportation, food, accommodation, health, Hajj rituals, and safe return home. He said they have as well communicated the procedures of registration and payment.
The Hajj Taskforce Chairman noted that the registration and payment are progressing well although they are still below their target and that they have announced the projected deadline for payment to be 25th May 2023. He appealed for further dissemination of the message to the public so that they should not hold on to making payment for any reason as he said it always creates uncertainty and even contributes to the problems of intending pilgrims not being able to travel.
He confirmed that the Chief Medical Officer has approved their medical team of two doctors, two nurses, and one pharmacist and that they hope to commence health screening of intending pilgrims early next week.
Sesay stated that most of the problems they encountered from previous Hajj is the failure of pilgrims to follow laid down and agreed procedures and steps. He appealed to them to be law-abiding and to follow instructions.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (19/05/23)
