Faizel Patel – 12/06/2020
With Hajj 1441/2020 being cancelled for South African hujjaj The South African Hajj and Umrah (SAHUC) says while the application process is time prority driven, hujjaj cannot be left in an accredited state.
Sahuc on Thursday announced that following it’s meeting with the International Relations Department, South African Hujjaj will not be able to perform hajj this year.
The hajj body says International Relations minister, Naledi Pandor indicated that South African borders are currently closed and will not be open for international commercial travel except for the repatriation of citizens under the current COVID-19 lockdown.
Speaking to Radio Islam on Friday, Sahuc President Shaheen Essop says there are number of factors that need to be taken into account following the cancellation of hajj this year for South Africans.
“We don’t know whether we are going to have a quota of 3,500 for next year. We don’t know if COVID-19 is still going to be a problem next year and what the Ministry of Hajj or the government of Saudi Arabia is going to determine. We may be curtailed, we may be drawn back. All the accreditations are going to be de-accredited and those people will slot back in queue according to their date and time of their application.”
Meanwhile, as the annual Hajj draws closer, it’s emerged Saudi Arabia’s Hajj and Umrah Ministry is expected to make a decision soon about whether the Kingdom will be proceeding with this year’s Hajj or not due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Listen to the interview with Sahuc’s Shaheen Essop
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