Morocco’s Anti-Corruption Bill Faces Parliamentary Resistance

The debates will be more stormy in the coming days in Parliament, within the Legislation Commission in particular. And for good reason! Several provisions contained in the Bill filed by the National Authority for Integrity, Prevention and the Fight against Corruption (INPPLC) do not seem to receive the support of several elected officials, including those from the PAM, reports the daily Al Ahdath Al Maghribia.

Indeed, at the request of the PAM parliamentary group and the PPS grouping, this Commission had postponed the session of last week. It should be remembered that the PAM had strongly opposed, during the general debate, the INPPLC project. If the President of the Authority, Bachir Rachidi, and the other sectors concerned, in particular the public prosecutor’s office, have marked their agreement for this Bill, the PAM has clearly displayed its disagreement, the same source points out. Abdellatif Ouahbi, deputy and secretary general of the PAM, is notably opposed to the idea that lawyers’ offices could be inspected by the INPPLC commissioners, while excluding the courts and police stations.

For her part, the deputy Boutaina Karouri pointed out that this Bill refers to an overall notion of corruption and therefore does not limit itself to that appearing in the penal code, to encompass Article 36 of the Constitution. However, she acknowledges, "it is an important step forward, particularly with regard to the provision that allows the INPPLC to engage in spontaneous anti-corruption action". Furthermore, for the deputy, this project which also provides for the creation of regional representations of the INPPLC for a better fight against corruption, "will allow citizens to file complaints with the regional annexes close to their homes". In short, according to this elected official, "this bill will be an important mechanism that will contribute, in an energetic way, to the fight against corruption, knowing that this institution will now benefit from the necessary guarantees and attributions for its proper functioning".

Even if it is currently dividing within the Legislation Commission, this Bill, which is intended to be the result of long negotiations, will make it possible to fight more than yesterday against corruption, which "causes the State to lose 5 to 7% of GDP", according to the Head of Government, Saâd-Eddine El Othmani.