South African Hajj Council reaches quota for upcoming pilgrimage
The South African Hajj and Umrah Council (SAHUC) President Moaaz Casoo said they have reached their target of 2 500 pilgrims as per the ministry of Hajj and Umrah quota collection for South Africa.
Casoo made the announcement on Wednesday. Casoo and the SAHUC delegation are in attendance at the Hajj conference and exhibition in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The conference and exhibition will end on Thursday. The qouta has remained the same as 2024.
Hajj is a pilgrimage made to the Kaaba in the sacred city of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia. Rituals of Hajj 2025 will commence in mid June, for five days.
The delegation has been attending meetings with various stakeholders in preparation for the upcoming Hajj 2025. The delegation consists of Ismail Kholvadia, head of mission; Western Cape chairperson Mohammed Groenewald; assistant treasurer Imaam Shamiel Basadien and office administrator Mihad Jardine.
Casoo said that the SAHUC delegation met with the Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Abdulfattah Bin Sulaiman Mashat, to sign the service level agreement for the upcoming Hajj season.
The SAHUC met with Mashariq Almasiah to discuss pricing and services with regards to the five days of hajj. The SAHUC has also signed service level agreements with the service provider.
The SAHUC delegation met with the South African catering company AbulJadayel for meals that will be provided for the pilgrims. Casoo said that the SAHUC did not have a ready to go list.
“Should we receive an increase in the quota from the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah a decision will be taken then if a ready to go list is warranted or not. We will inform the public of the processes to be followed,” Casoo said.
The SAHUC said a total of twelve entities showed interest in applying for travel operators' accreditation, of which seven submitted their applications to SAHUC. Six travel operators have been successful in their application to SAHUC.
The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said that during the panel discussions, Mashat shared insights on the future of healthcare services in Hajj.
The enhanced #Nusuk_App was also launched with 100+ new services, offering pilgrims an all-in-one platform for their spiritual journey, aiming to become the go-to app for Muslims around the world.
zainul.dawood@inl.co.za