Transparency Maroc Urges Government to Outline Anti-Corruption Strategy

By transmitting this document to the head of the executive, Transparency Maroc expects the government to detail its anti-corruption policy. "What are your priorities? How do you plan to reactivate the implementation of the national anti-corruption strategy? What would your policy be on conflicts of interest and illicit enrichment? How do you plan to strengthen the resources of the probity, prevention and anti-corruption authority (INPPLC) to ensure its independence and effectiveness? How to make the law on access to information truly effective? How to protect whistleblowers of corruption given the emptiness of Law 37-10 promulgated in 2011, and what are your proposals to make the current asset declaration law efficient?".

The answers to these questions will allow the Association and Moroccans to measure the government’s willingness to act and make its statements credible that the fight against corruption is a national priority, the memorandum states. "Barely a few days after the inauguration of your government, your first act was to withdraw the draft amendment to the Criminal Code which introduced the criminalization of illicit enrichment into Moroccan law. All the reactions converge towards the will of your government to remove this offense from future amendments to the code or to empty it of its substance. This withdrawal was followed by the withdrawal of the draft law on the regulation of the occupation of the public domain. This premonitory attitude was confirmed by the declaration of your Minister of Justice wanting to legislate to prohibit civil society organizations from denouncing the alleged corrupt by pretending to ignore the provisions of the constitution, the laws governing the judicial system and the international conventions ratified by Morocco in this matter," denounces Transparency in its memorandum.

For the Association, the fact that in the 2022 version of Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, Morocco is ranked 87th out of 180 countries, with a 4-point drop in its score and 14 places compared to 2018, is proof that the fight against corruption still has a long way to go. Corruption is still very present in hospitals, courts, public services, universities, noting that even the entrepreneur encounters it in his path for investment or in that of access to public markets.

To remedy this situation, Transparency Maroc proposes the preparation and promulgation of the law on the regulation of conflicts of interest and lobbying to avoid the exploitation of leaks that undermine fair competition and good governance in application of Article 36 of the 2011 constitution. The Association also proposes the rehabilitation of the competition council, the establishment of the structures of the INPPLC by the appointment of its members, the revision of the law on asset declaration by including access to the related information to any interested person.

Transparency Maroc also calls on the government to revise Law No. 37-10, promulgated in 2011, on the protection of whistleblowers of corruption by protecting the professional career of employees in the public and private sectors to encourage them to report suspicious acts to which they are exposed without fear of retaliation.