Moroccan Politicians Vie for Hospital Equipment Ahead of Elections

Some elected officials are taking advantage of the painful situation experienced by patients affected by the coronavirus, especially those in critical condition, who have difficulty finding an intensive care bed. Thus, some of them are fighting to ensure that the equipment obtained as part of the public contracts launched by the local authorities benefits first the hospitals in their constituency, reports the daily Assabah, which even speaks of "dubious markets".

This is the case in the Guelmim-Oued Noun region, where the elected officials of Sidi Ifni denounce the exclusion of the city’s hospital in a contract for the acquisition of artificial respirators for Covid-19 patients, financed by the Regional Council. Thus, many sources informing the daily are perplexed about the equality between the municipalities, at the time of the distribution of medical equipment and other products obtained by the council for 20 million dirhams.

Moreover, as part of the fight against the pandemic, the services of the Ministry of Health in the region had undertaken to increase the control measures, in particular, the additional allocation of the region with 200 new beds, including 14 intensive care beds, distributed between the hospitals of Guelmim, Tan Tan, Sidi Ifni, Assabah Zag, Bouizakarne. A promise that does not reassure everyone. Some wealthy families have preferred to install respiratory devices at home to avoid the problems due to the lack of beds in hospitals, even if their devices are not suitable for the coronavirus case.