Ali Gharsan Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Prince Ahmed Bin Abdul Aziz, Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Supreme Haj Committee, has tasked a committee comprising representatives from the ministries of Interior and Haj to evaluate the possibility of issuing licenses to new local Haj companies, said Dr. Bandar Bin Hajjar, Minister of Haj. This came in reply to a question about the manipulation of this service by certain companies for many years during a “Joint Responsibility Dialogue” hosted by Okaz, sister publication of Saudi Gazette, at the organization's main office in Jeddah. The minister said the committee is studying this matter while considering a number of factors such as the accommodation capacities of the existing companies and the market's need for the service. On the basis of the outcome of this study Prince Ahmed will take an appropriate decision, he said. About the demand made by a female Mutawif to return the housing service to Mutawifs as was the case in the past, Hajjar said: “The ministry is studying the issue. It's an important demand. A few days before his death the late Crown Prince Naif held a meeting with the heads of the Tawafa establishments in this regard.” Hajjar said he had always maintained that housing plays a significant role in developing relations between the male and female Mutawifs. “Thus in the next stage we will consider the possibility of coming up with a package of field services around the year. In turn, this will secure jobs for the female Mutawifs all the year especially in view of the fact that more than 15 million pilgrims and Umrah performers come here annually. The new organizational structure will define these relations in a way that guarantees the rights of all parties.” About decline in the revenues of some of the Tawafa establishments despite the growing increase in numbers of pilgrims, Hajjar said: “This can't be generalized. I'm acquainted with all the budgets of the establishments. There are some differences. There are establishments which generate high revenues while others need to exert more efforts to increase their revenues.” “In order to overcome these differences I've suggested this year a certain program to the Guide Establishment in Madinah. It's a competitive program which will help in increasing the revenues. It has already been implemented. If it succeeds, it will be generalized. We have annual forums in the ministry called ‘successful experiments'. Through this program we pursue all the proposals which proved to be a success in preparation to apply them to other establishments. Thus we benefit from them in upgrading the quality of the service and in increasing revenues as well.” Referring to the inheritance issue raised by Naila Hamza who said this system had deprived women Mutawifs of their rights in inheritance he said: “The inheritance of profession or professional inheritance is a thorny and ramified issue which dates back to 70 years. It's based on a traditional aging system which allows men than woman to inherit the profession. The system does great injustice to a female Mutawif. In the new organizational structure we have stressed the need for reviewing the system and tackling it according to the Islamic Shariah.”
