Health Minister Under Fire as 40 Senior Officials Dismissed Amid Ministry Turmoil

There is turmoil at the Ministry of Health. And for good reason, the minister’s entourage would be engaged in a clan war. As a result, 40 senior officials were fired by the minister. The chief of staff has just resigned, and the director of Epidemiology and Disease Control, too, threatens to resign if invisible hands continue their dirty work. The situation has caught the attention of parliamentarians.

According to Assabah, parliamentarians blame Minister Khalid Aït Taleb for his management method of this department, based on "rumors" and "denunciations". They also evoke a tainted environment, made of "plots", "intrigues" and power struggles for key positions in the ministry.

For Saïd Chabaâtou, a member of the constitutional group’s parliamentary group, Minister Aït Taleb must withdraw his decision regarding the dismissal of the 40 ministry staff. According to him, these officials, whose "sense of responsibility, integrity and selflessness" is established, have been "unfairly" relieved of their duties.

The deputy points an accusing finger at the minister’s close associates who are pushing him to "make decisions that serve, in most cases, their personal interests or allow them to settle their own scores". These internal disputes exposed in public are likely to tarnish the image of the ministry with public opinion, especially in this critical period, he laments.