Hajj agencies must be stopped from taking advantage of pilgrims.

This is one of the things being highlighted at a discussion hosted by the Commission for Cultural, Religious, and Linguistic Communities. It comes as South African Hujaaj have been drastically impacted by dubious travel operators who have either absconded with their hard-earned money or the travel bans imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The latter concern has seen several hujaaj waiting for their money to be reimbursed, with the South African Hajj and Umrah Council struggling to hold defaulting operators to account.

The Claremont Main Road Mosque has told the Commission that there have been some instances in which the hajj quota has impacted on people’s right to perform the pilgrimage. 

[Picture: Getty Images]