Morocco Cracks Down on Rampant Misuse of State Vehicles by Officials

The misappropriation of state vehicles for personal purposes is not declining. This is evidenced by recent revelations from the regional services of the territorial administration. Civil servants and local elected officials use a large number of state vehicles, identified by the famous J (ج) symbol, outside the professional framework. Some elected officials are suspected of having used these vehicles as part of partisan activities, bordering on real early election campaigns, in flagrant violation of the regulations. However, a circular from the Minister of the Interior, published last year, firmly reminds of the rules governing the use of collective property and requires a comprehensive inventory of service vehicles parked in municipal garages.

A new circular addressed to the communities of the Casablanca-Settat region expressly prohibits the use of state vehicles without an official document specifying the identity of the responsible civil servant and the exact duration of the assignment, according to Assabah, adding that it also prohibits any use outside of working hours, except in the case of an urgent and duly justified mission. The same regional services of the territorial administration report that the vehicle fleet of the local authorities now includes nearly 50,000 vehicles, equipment and motorcycles, but this equipment is not exclusively mobilized to support public services, ensure the continuity of services and meet the needs of citizens.

Based on these findings, territorial officials from the Ministry of the Interior have demanded an audit of the municipal depot registers, whose parking lots are now almost empty due to complicity in the management of the vehicle fleet, which facilitates the abusive retention of vehicles. The authorities now insist on the obligation to return any service vehicle as soon as the mission for which it was assigned is completed.

Furthermore, the report of the Higher Council of Accounts reveals that the management of the municipal vehicle fleet "suffers from a glaring lack of efficiency and prevents its optimal use". The institution calls for the establishment of an integrated legal and institutional framework to organize the use of vehicles and define strict allocation criteria. It also recommends rationalizing purchases through increased competition and regulating long-term rental contracts, in order to ensure transparency, efficiency and economy in the management of this collective heritage.