Injustice and Corruption in the 1438 Hajj Season

-        The General Administration for Oversight of Social and Cultural Services in the State Audit and Administrative Control Bureau (SAACB) in Palestine conducted an audit and compliance review of the activities of the 2017 Hajj season for the Hijri year 1438, and the report arrived at the following observations:

·       Special cases: (742) pilgrims from outside the lottery were selected within the special cases, representing 18% of the total number of pilgrims, which is 4,092 pilgrims, according to the Hajj protocol. The Ministry of Awqaf selects some pilgrims under the special cases without clear criteria and without supporting documentation. Some cases are selected as a result of recommendations and letters received from external parties, as there are no special committees to determine the justifications for selecting the special cases.

·       Formation of Hajj committees and missions: The Ministry of Awqaf converted a number of pilgrims who won the lottery into guides and administrators within the ministry’s mission, which calls into question the credibility of forming the mission committees and leads to additional costs for the Hajj season. Some of them were transferred to company administrative positions and replaced by their relatives so they could perform Hajj in their stead, which indicates that they are not company administrators and that these visas were sold by the Hajj and Umrah companies. The Ministry of Awqaf selected people within the Hajj mission from outside the ministry’s approved lists and granted them visit visas under the title of mission driver and Awqaf administrator.

·       The Ministry of Awqaf granted two multiple-entry visas to one company as an agent for certain hotels in order to serve the pilgrims without that company having obtained a license.

·       Renting hotels in violation of legislation: The Ministry of Awqaf rented Al-Zill Hotel and leased Al-Ard Al-Mumtaza Hotel to pilgrims after the end of the Hajj season for the year 1438 Hijri, independently of the rental committee formed by a Cabinet decision.!!

·       The Ministry of Awqaf did not comply with the conditions stated in Financial and Administrative Instructions No. (1) for 2014 for Hajj and Umrah affairs regarding the selection of muezzins, guides, and the media mission.
 Visas for women granted to companies: Hajj and Umrah companies were granted (12) administrative visas for women, whereas the required administrative role is not compatible with the work of women, especially dealing with crossings and bridges. In addition, according to the protocol approved by the Saudi government, women require a mahram, which could lead to exploitation of the administrative visas for the benefit of companies...!!

·       Accommodation of administrators and drivers: Transport administrators were accommodated in Nawazi Al-Wathbir Hotel with 4 beds in each room in violation of the provisions of Article Six of the agreement signed with the transport contractor, which stipulates, "The second party (the contractor) is obliged to provide separate accommodation for bus drivers, technical workshops and transport administrators, at its own expense... and in accommodation separate from the pilgrims." Drivers of the mission’s vehicles arriving from Jordan were accommodated in the rented hotels at the expense of the fee-paying pilgrims without justification, thus increasing the cost.

·       Visas for the pilgrims’ transport contractor: The transport contractor was granted visas for 85 drivers even though the number of buses received and used to transport pilgrims was 80 buses. Visas for 5 technical workshop drivers and 20 visas for members of those workshops were granted contrary to the proper procedures..!!!

·       Accommodation for dignitaries: 516 people from the missions, dignitaries, and institution members were accommodated at the expense of the fee-paying pilgrims, in addition to 181 beds that remained unoccupied in Mecca and were not utilized to expand accommodation for pilgrims in their rooms..!!!
Pilgrim administrators from the ministry: There was an increase of 43 ministry administrators who accompanied the Hajj season, contrary to procedures. The number of ministry administrators who should accompany the pilgrims is 38 administrators, but according to the Minister of Awqaf’s decision the number of administrators is 85 administrators..
 There are specialties within the medical mission that do not match the nature of the mission required for the season..!!

·        Hajj fees for the muezzins "The ministry did not pay the Hajj fees for the muezzins: 43 muezzins had their transportation and accommodation expenses charged to the fee-paying pilgrims contrary to proper procedures."

·        Violations of transport buses: The ministry bore the costs of bus fines in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia amounting to 3,973 dinars as a result of failure to arrange and organize the lists in the names of the pilgrims.
 Agreement on arrangements for season affairs: The Ministry of Awqaf did not provide the SAACB with a copy of the Agreement on Arrangements for Hajj Affairs for the 1438 Hijri season concerning the pre-travel housing rental, which prevented the Bureau from knowing the actual number of pilgrims for whom housing would be rented.

·       Granting visas to pilgrims outside the lottery: There are 26 names of pilgrims who won the lottery whose names do not appear in the lists (final differentiation list, substitution list), while conversely 23 pilgrims were selected outside the approved lists (lottery list, special-cases list, substitution list) without clarification of the bases and criteria for their selection; in addition, 15 of them did not pay the Hajj fees.

·       Collecting fees from pilgrims in excess of what they owe: Fees were collected from pilgrims greater than what they were entitled to according to the cost calculation provisions concerning "badhl khadamat ghour namrayn" and the cost of service allowances.

·       What the State Audit and Administrative Control Bureau (SAACB) wrote about the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf’s response to the Bureau’s report and its observations regarding the violations in the 2017 Hajj season (1438 Hijri).

·       Response of the entity to the report

-        The Ministry’s response consisted of unconvincing justifications, and the initial report was considered a final report, noting that the observations in the report are recurring from previous seasons and the ministry did not work to address and correct them. The report was forwarded to the Cabinet!

·       Is it conceivable that the hands of corruption would touch the performance of the pure religious rites and rituals...without dread or fear or conscience!?