By Aneeqa du Plessis

Confusion is rife among aspiring Hujaaj [pilgrims] after they’ve been requested to cough up an extra R1 300 or 250 ر.س as part of their fees before embarking on the auspicious journey of Hajj 1444 AH.

But, according to the Western Cape Chairperson at the South African Hajj and Umrah Council (SAHUC) Mohammad Groenewald, the announcement from the Saudi Kingdom came as a surprise.

“This is basically a cost that each hajji that enters the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will pay to ensure the upkeep and maintenance of Masjid Al Haram. It is almost as if you’re paying a tourism levy when booking into a hotel,” explained Groenewald on VOC’s Breakfast show on Tuesday morning.

“Unfortunately, as we say they make the rules and we have to abide by them because we are coming into their country, but this certainly did catch everyone across the globe off guard,” added Groenewald.

More than 80% of Pakistanis will not be able to afford the annual pilgrimage due to exorbitant prices.

“Lots of countries didn’t take the announcement laying down and rightly so, we too have protested the fact that local pilgrims need to pay a large sum of money already and now you’re adding additional costs on top of that, and we have expressed out dissatisfaction but what else can we do,” asked Groenewald.

A group of 15 mission workers have left for the Saudi Kingdom on Sunday to prepare for the first cohort of hajjis that are expected to depart from South Africa on the 21st of May.

“We have a total of 40 mission workers that are set to assist the 3500 pilgrims this year. The mission workers are sent ahead of the time to ensure the smooth sailing of operations when pilgrims arrive in the Saudi Kingdom. The reason that Hujaaj have a flawless journey is due to the on-hand assistance of the mission workers that are there for your every need as a guest of Allah SWT,” said Groenewald.

Meanwhile, the extra 1 000 pilgrims that were accredited on the ready-to-go-list are reminded to choose a travel operator by 20h00 this evening or face a deduction of 30 points as a penalty.

“Alhamdullilah [All praises due to God], everything is running smoothly. We are dotting our I’s and crossing our T’s. It is time for finalizing documents and ensuring contracts are being signed as time is of the essence,” added Groenewald.

The days of Hajj are set to begin in the latter part of June 2023.

For more information visit www.sahuc.co.za

VOC