It’s unlikely that the high costs of hajj will become affordable any time soon.

But the South African Hajj and Umrah Council (Sahuc) President Shaheen Essop says they will need to speak to those in Saudi Arabia who are responsible for this pricing to get a better understanding.

He notes that the Saudis want to revamp Mina and want to have five million people perform the hajj as part of its 2030 vision. It comes as hajj prices have shot up.

For this year, a South African pilgrim going on hajj will need to fork out almost R35 000 just to cover visa, camp, qurbani, a hajj tax, and insurance. It excludes costs such as flights and accommodation, which form part of the hajj package offered by travel operators.

Accredited South African pilgrims have until 25 May 2022 to alert Sahuc whether they’ll be participating in this year’s hajj.

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