The Youth, Sports and Culture Committee of Parliament, has begun processes to summon the Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Ministry over its decision to airlift Christians on a pilgrimage to Israel.
The committee exercises oversight responsibility for the Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Ministry, which has been criticized by some sections of the public over the pilgrimage.
Speaking to ‘ Duke Mensah Opoku, the Chairman of the Committee and MP for Mpohor, Alex Kofi Agyekum, said he had spoken with the director of the ministry and was told that “ the whole exercise is an innovation by the Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Ministry.”
Mr. Agyekum said the concerns raised by the public had not fallen on deaf ears because “we as a committee, when we hear of such public agitation, our duty is to call for them [Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Ministry] to brief us about the whole modalities.”
The meeting with the director was the first step towards inviting them to the committee, according to the MP, who added that, what was left for his committee to do was to “just officially invite them to the committee for us to be informed officially about such a programme.”
In terms of financial commitment, Mr. Agyekum noted that, the budget his committee approved for the Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Ministry did not have any allocation for the facilitation of the pilgrimage.
“Their facilitation is not going to let them delve into an approved budget by the government because the budget Parliament approved for them has specific and strict areas that they are supposed to spend on,” he stated.
The Christian pilgrimage is set to take place on July 15, 2017, with 100 participants. Amidst the criticism from the public, the Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Minister, Kofi Dzamesi, has stressed that government is not paying for the pilgrimage.
He first indicated that, his Ministry would only be playing a facilitation role in the pilgrimage that will see participants pay $2,700 per person.
The fee will cater for air fares, hotel bills, insurance, tour facilities, food among others.
The Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Ministry has set up two sub-committees to handle the facilitation; the Planning and Screening Committees which are composed of members of recognized Christian bodies although a respectable body, the Christian Council of Ghana has noted it is not interested in such events.
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
