Morocco’s King Expresses Frustration as Corruption Persists Despite Anti-Graft Efforts

Guest of the "Hiwar Fil3omk" program on the Al3omk website, Mohamed Bachir Rachdi said that Mohammed VI supports the anti-corruption efforts led by the Authority and the authorities concerned, but expects results from them. "The international community and all national and international institutions agree that corruption is the main obstacle to development, because it hinders energies and does not allow everyone to contribute to the development of the country and to benefit from their rights in a fair manner..." he said.

The President of the National Authority for Integrity confirms that today, "the cost of corruption is high" at the national and international level and that unfortunately, "there is not enough response to the legitimate expectations of citizens, economic and social actors". Regarding the detection of corruption cases and the intervention mechanisms of the Authority, Rachdi specified that "the detection is done by observing the difficulty of access to services and the rights of citizens, as well as access to economic contribution and the development of wealth creation opportunities for all".

"If we examine the analysis of the country’s economic situation, we find that the number of companies and economic actors contributing to more than 90% of the volume of transactions is very low, less than 500 economic actors represent 80% to 90% of the volume of transactions. Socially, it is clear that citizens’ access to public services is not fluid, and they encounter obstacles and difficulties in accessing the services guaranteed by the constitution and the law," he develops.

There are several mechanisms to measure the level of corruption, but the most common is field research, Rachdi points out, indicating that the Authority has already carried out a study on citizens residing in Morocco and Moroccans abroad and that the one on companies is in the process of being finalized. "These studies will contribute to deepening the knowledge of the corruption situation in the country, and will give us an overview of the manifestations and areas of corruption most affected," he concluded.

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