Rachid Maboudi
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11:42 – January 20, 2025
Abdel-Ilah Benkirane, secretary general of the Justice and Development Party (PJD, opposition) and former head of government, called on Aziz Akhannouch to publish an official statement clarifying the controversy surrounding the attribution of public support to his economic group within the framework of the seawater desalination project in Casablanca. This intervention, made on Saturday January 18 during the ordinary session of the PJD National Council in Bouznika, evokes suspicions of a conflict of interest at the top of the State.
Mr. Benkiran denounced a blatant inconsistency between Akhannouch’s statements to Parliament on December 16, 2024, where he affirmed that his company had not benefited from public subsidies and an official press release from the National Investment Commission, which nevertheless recognizes the granting of financial support exceeding 2.17 billion dirhams in favor of the company concerned.
The project, whose total cost is estimated at 6.5 billion dirhams, was awarded to Akwa by the head of government after a highly contested call for tenders. Mr. Benkiran questions the legitimacy of a procedure allowing a company to offer an advantageous price and then subsequently request public aid from a commission chaired by the head of the executive himself.
In a previous statement to the deputies, Akhannouch had defended the transparency of the process, affirming that the project had been proposed “at the best price” within the framework of an open call for tenders and that there were no irregularities.
-Idriss Azami Al Idrissi, president of the PJD national council and former budget minister (2012-2016), for his part, highlighted several troubling elements relating to the management of this affair. During a conference organized by his party, he recalled that the specifications for this operation explicitly stated that the candidates’ financial and technical offers should not include recourse to public support. Mr. Azami also underlined that the call for tenders had been piloted by the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), whose board of directors is chaired by the head of government under legal provisions in force. This dual position, according to the PJD, fuels legitimate doubts about the neutrality and integrity of the decision-making process.
This strategic project, supposed to meet the growing drinking water needs of the Casablanca region, has been at the heart of a major controversy since December, fueled by questions about governance, transparency and equity in the use of public resources. .
Morocco
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