Fifty Haj companies have protested to the Board of Grievances against the Ministry of Haj's decision to close them down. The closure order followed a recommendation by the tripartite committee set up by the Ministry to evaluate the performance of Haj companies functioning all over the Kingdom. The decision to sue the Ministry was taken as the committee's report did not clearly spell out the reasons for the closure,” Saad Jameel Al-Qureshi, Deputy Chairman of the Haj Committee at Jeddah's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was quoted by Al-Riyadh daily as saying. Al-Qureshi said the owners of the companies maintain that the Ministry has no well-defined criterion or rule for the evaluation of Haj companies. This makes the committee's decision null and void, he said. He said the Ministry of Haj had received two letters from the Ministry of Interior and Prince Khalid Al-Fasial, Emir of Makkah. The Ministry of Interior urged the Haj Ministry to cooperate with the companies to overcome any shortcomings in their services. Prince Khalid's letter ordered the formation of a joint committee including representatives from the two sides to sit together and write clear-cut regulations defining the deficiencies and penalties. “The Ministry turned a deaf ear to these directives and went ahead with its action,” he said. Al-Qureshi said the issue has been unresolved for seven years with no sign of a breakthrough despite the organization of several workshops by researchers and academics focused on all the aspects of the problem. All these efforts have yielded nothing, he said. This eventually led to the closure of more than 143 companies in seven years and the loss of investments worth millions of riyals and the termination of 4,500 Saudi employees who were working with these companies. The committee at the chamber has repeatedly pleaded with the Ministry of Haj to work out a clear mechanism governing the relationship between the companies and the Ministry besides defining the obligations they should fulfill. He said the major problem between Umrah and Haj companies and the tripartite committee which assesses their performance is “overstaying.” “The committee recommended the closure of these companies although the rate of overstaying had declined considerably. What the Ministry does not seem to understand is that the Haj companies have nothing to do with the overstaying problem. It is the responsibility of the Passports Department,” he said. Earlier, the Board of Grievances issued a verdict revoking a decision by the Ministry for fining and abolishing the licenses of some of the Umrah companies because of the non-availability of any clear-cut rules defining their functioning. __
