The former Chairman of the Hajj Board, Hon. Alhaj Ben Abdallah Banda has disputed claims by the 2025 Hajj Task Force regarding legacy debts, stating that the current task force’s assertions do not present the full picture.
In a statement issued on February 6, 2024, Banda expressed concern over remarks made by Hon. Collins Dauda, leader of the interim Hajj Task Force, during the announcement of the 2025 Hajj package.
According to him, at the beginning of the mandate of former President H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2017, the government inherited a debt of $7.8 million from the previous Hajj managers under the NDC administration.
He explained that part of this debt included 425 fully paid prospective pilgrims who could not be airlifted in 2016 and were entitled to either a refund or rebooking.
He stressed the Akufo-Addo administration and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia ensured that the affected individuals were eventually flown to perform the pilgrimage.
Alhaji Ben Abdallah clarified that as of the end of their tenure in 2024, the total debt left behind was $4,859,250, a figure included in the board’s official handing-over notes submitted to the Chief of Staff at the Presidency.
“The attempt to refer to the current legacy debt without reference to what we inherited in 2017 is most unfair and unfortunate because it does not represent a full disclosure of the genesis of the current debt,” he stated.
He explained that debts from organizing Hajj operations stem from various factors, particularly foreign exchange fluctuations and urged the current task force to be transparent in its communications to avoid creating disaffection within the Muslim community.
“We call on the task force to always give the full historical antecedents of the legacy debt,” Alhaji Ben Abdallah emphasized.