After uncovering suspicions of corruption, the Prime Minister directs a detailed review of the work of the Ministry of Endowments since 2015

Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak directed, on Tuesday, to conduct a detailed review of all aspects of work in the Ministry of Endowments and Guidance since 2015 AD, and to address any imbalances in the administrative and financial aspects, in order to enhance its role in performing the tasks assigned to it in an optimal manner, and serving citizens, especially in Hajj and Umrah sector.

This came while he chaired a joint meeting that included the Minister of Endowments and Guidance, Muhammad Shabiba, and the Minister of Finance, Salem bin Brik, and a number of leaders from the two ministries, according to the Yemeni News Agency, “Saba.”

Bin Mubarak stressed the importance of taking serious, transparent and responsible positions in confronting all cases and suspicions of corruption, within the framework of the government’s approach to enhancing transparency, accountability and reforming institutions, stressing that financial compliance procedures are applied to all ministries, institutions and government agencies without exception with the support of the Presidential Leadership Council, and will not be implemented. Negligence in that.

In turn, the Minister of Endowments presented a report on the performance of the Hajj season for the year 1445 AH, the services provided to the Yemeni pilgrims and their conditions from dispersal until the completion of the Hajj rituals and their return to the homeland in health and safety, and the measures taken to evaluate the results, pointing to the most important challenges and difficulties that the mission faced, and proposals to overcome them.

He also directed us to identify the mistakes that accompanied previous Hajj seasons and prepare for the next season to ensure the provision of the best services to Yemeni pilgrims, listen to complaints and observations, and deal with them positively.

In mid-July, “Yemen Shabab Net” obtained documents issued by the Ministry of Finance revealing serious financial violations of the Ministry of Endowments and Guidance, specifically the Hajj and Umrah sector, and the ministry’s rebellion against the Ministry of Finance’s correspondence with it during an entire year.

The documents showed that there was no operating budget for the Hajj and Umrah sector for four years in a row from 2021 to 2024 AD, and that it did not submit financial reports for the same years, in addition to its violation of opening bank accounts in private banks (Al-Qutaybi Bank), and its persistence in opening a third account in the same bank, to In addition, the Ministry of Endowments does not commit to submitting a spending plan for the mission’s operational expenses.

According to a letter from the Ministry of Finance issued on June 11, 2024 AD, the Ministry of Endowments disbursed and transferred cash amounts from its two current accounts in the amount of more than (337) million Saudi riyals without adhering to the controls and procedures regulating this and the Ministry of Finance’s approval of the withdrawals.

The document also revealed that the Ministry of Endowments requested an amount of two million Saudi riyals from the Ministry of Finance as operational expenses for the Hajj sector without submitting a spending plan or budget to disburse that amount, which prompted the Ministry of Finance to apologize for allowing the disbursement for the aforementioned reasons.