Drought-Stricken Morocco Cracks Down on Elite Water Thieves in Casablanca and Marrakech

These in-depth field investigations are being carried out on the instructions of the Minister of the Interior, Abdelouafi Laftit. They were launched following a series of reports of water and electricity theft in areas affected by drought, according to sources at Hespress, specifying that elected officials, entrepreneurs and influential figures in the Casablanca-Settat and Marrakech-Safi regions are the targets of these operations.

Some suspects have hastened to dismantle the clandestine pumping installations and illegal connections before the commissions’ arrival, for fear of facing sanctions. Reports transmitted by the local authorities to the Ministry of the Interior have alerted to the illegal exploitation of water for agricultural and industrial activities. These documents report a proliferation of undeclared wells and illegal connections of industrial warehouses belonging to elected officials to the water and electricity network.

Mayors and their deputies risk losing their positions at the end of the ongoing investigations, which could lead to legal proceedings, as soon as their involvement in networks of anarchic construction, drilling and illegal connections is proven. In application of Circular No. 1937 of the Minister of the Interior aimed at rationing water during this persistent drought period, the Wali of the Casablanca-Settat region has instructed the governors of the peripheral provinces to put an end to these illegal practices.