New technological improvements at all levels within the Saudi Kingdom are set to greatly aid the haj registration process, according to South African Haj and Umrah Council’s (Sahuc) president, Shaheen Essop. This comes after a four man Sahuc delegation recently visited the holy lands, holding several key discussions with stakeholders in the kingdom.

“From the haj ministry right down to the service providers and stakeholders at the lower levers, they’re all basically getting themselves jacked up with electronic structure so as to make things as easy as possible for the hujaaj coming from around the world,” he said.

He added that these upgrades would likely help smooth over the haj process.

Amongst the areas of focus for the Sahuc delegation was the Muassassa, which recently saw a change of leadership. This in turn led to a delay in the release of haj packages on a local front. Essop said that despite the uncertainty in this regard, discussions with the Muassassa had gone extremely well, particularly on the topic of service delivery.

All eyes remain on Sahuc in anticipation for the release of this year’s haj accreditation list, but as for an official release date, Essop was still tightlipped. He did note that Sahuc’s systems were well in order, with the list now in the hands of an external auditor. Once this process was complete, a release would be imminent.

“This auditor obviously does this on a pro bono basis. As a result of pro bono, it is not something that is done in the normal course of business. It’s an afterhours and voluntarily job and people have other commitments as well,” he said, adding that this process was soon coming to a conclusion.

Once the accreditation list has been revealed, prospective hujaaj have been urged to indicate their acceptances as soon as possible, so that visa deadlines may be met.

Another area of concern for many has been the limited haj quota, which is expected to remain at 2000 for the foreseeable future. The decreased quota has resulted in a major backlog within Sahucs systems. But Essop expected that once ongoing renovations within the Kingdom were concluded, South Africa’s quota would likely increase. VOC (Mubeen Banderker)