ACC says Islamic Ministry will be held accountable over Hajj agency licensing
The Islamic Ministry has authorized four agencies to carry pilgrims to Hajj this year
Maldivian pilgrims on the runway about to board a flight to Saudi Arabia
The Anti-Corruption Commission has on Thursday said that the four agencies now licensed to carry pilgrims to Hajj this year were appointed against its guidelines and that those responsible would be held accountable.
The ACC said that despite its directive to reappoint pilgrim groups on May 30th, when it had publicly deemed the Islamic Ministry’s first criteria void, the ministry had done so without an evaluation process.
The ACC announced the results of an investigation into corruption allegations against the Islamic Ministry, which it embarked on a month ago.
Sixteen agencies had submitted proposals this year, of which six were licensed. A statement from the commission said that while ministry officials had shared categories for evaluation, and the criteria under which the points would be allocated, at a pre-bid meeting – the results of the evaluation indicate that the agreed criteria had not been adhered to.
A statement from the commission said that while ministry officials had shared categories for evaluation, and the criteria under which the points would be allocated, at a pre-bid meeting – the results of the evaluation indicate that the agreed criteria had not been adhered to.
At the pre-bid meeting, ministry officials had said that 50 percent of the points would be allocated based on the quality of service. While the quality of service was named to be a category, points were given divided upon sub-categories that the Hajj agencies are even now not privy to.
The ACC said that given how some of the agencies that submitted proposals were not privy to what the sub-categories are, they were unable to submit the information required to score in said sub-categories.
The commission called on the Islamic Ministry to reevaluate all proposals and to establish a new evaluation committee, explicitly asking that it does not include the ministry’s staff.
Concerns in the evaluation process surfaced following an audio leak where an official believed to be from the Ministry of Islamic Affairs is heard saying that he carries considerable influence in the services extended by Umrah and Hajj pilgrimage agents.
In the audio, the official is heard saying that he has enough connections to license pilgrim agents of his choosing at any given time.
The state operated Maldives Hajj Corporation was given permission to carry 50 percent of the 1,000-pilgrim quota allocated to the Maldives by the Saudi Arabian government. The remaining five companies were licensed to carry just 100 pilgrims each.
