Reports in the media that the Ministry for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs is funding pilgrimages to Israel for some Ghanaians have been refuted by the ministry.
Anyone who travels on the pilgrimage, according to the Ministry, is responsible for paying for their own expenses.
The government wanted pilgrims to pay for their travel and lodging, according to Richard Obeng Boafo, the Deputy Director and Head of the Religious Affairs Unit at the Ministry, who was speaking on Accra-based TV3.
“For now, we are not sponsoring anybody,” he said.
He added “we want the pilgrims to pay for their fares and accommodation, it will not cost the government any money.”
The 2023 Christian Pilgrimage to Israel has been announced in an internal circular from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.
The Ministry stated in the statement that the pilgrimage’s dates, which will be split into three parts, will be from September 22 through to November 30, 2023.
“I have the honour to inform members of staff that the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs has resumed its Christian Pilgrimage Programme to Israel. The provisional dates for the 2023 Pilgrimage are as follows:
“First Pilgrimage: 22nd-30th September, 2023 (Deadline for submission of registration forms 31st August, 2023); Second Pilgrimage: 21st-29th October, 2023 (Deadline for submission of forms 22nd September 2023); and Third Pilgrimage: 22nd-30th November, 2023 (Deadline for submission of forms 20th October, 2023),” it stated.
Meanwhile, Former National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer candidate Dr. Kwabena Duffuor has urged the government to eliminate the e-levy.
He asserted that the divisive tax must be repealed because it is not generating the government revenue that was anticipated.
Dr. Duffuor said during an appearance on Citi TV’s The Point of View: “We need to ask ourselves, are we getting enough from it? If we are not getting enough from it, then it is a nuisance tax, and we should scrap it.”
