The Ministry of Haj has extended the deadline for receiving bank guarantees from Haj service companies and institutions until Thursday.
The Ministry of Haj announced in an earlier circular that it would be requiring contractors working with pilgrimage companies and institutions to provide an unconditional and irrevocable bank guarantee to the ministry worth 20 percent of the total value of the contract. This move comes in an attempt to reduce the number of food poisoning cases that occur during the pilgrimage season.
Around 12,000 pilgrims have arrived via the Foundation of Pilgrims from African non-Arab countries.
Abdel Wahid Saifuddin, president of the foundation’s board of directors, said the company has completed its preparations for Haj season and has provided tools and means to ensure the success of the organization and the services provided to pilgrims. The foundation has recruited more than 5,000 employees to serve pilgrims at the holy sites, he explained.
Saifuddin indicated that foundation officials had studied plans executed in previous years to assess the pros and cons of operational plans with the aim of identifying areas for improvement.
The president stressed the importance of the role played by female volunteers in assisting fellow female pilgrims. Women have helped identify the needs of pilgrims by visiting them at their housing locations, as well as by providing counseling ad support for those hospitalized for treatment in Makkah and Madinah.
The chairman of the Foundation of Pilgrims from African non-Arab Countries discussed procedures and arrangements made by the institution to provide quality service to pilgrims with Ebrahim Edreis, the consul general of the Republic of South Africa, and Ismail Copadia, a representative of the pilgrims office in South Africa.
Saifuddin explained that the company is keen on holding continuous meetings, both with the heads of pilgrimage affairs offices and those representing countries from which pilgrims come each year, to coordinate service arrangements for pilgrims. Such meetings, he said, would help determine means to ensure a safe and smooth pilgrimage.
Ways to enhance communication and consultation for operations, including reception, grouping, transportation, nutrition, health, education and performing, were discussed during the meeting.
