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New York – Almost four weeks after the appointment of Abdelilah Benkirane as new head of government, Morocco’s public opinion will finally learn about the formation of the new government.
The new Prime Minister-designate seems determined to keep his words when he told reporters on Saturday, before a meeting of his party’s committee, that the nature of ministerial portfolios to be attributed to each of the four parties of the governmental coalition would be unveiled “within one or two days.”
In its Monday issue, the Moroccan daily newspaper has revealed the names of Ministers from the Party of Justice and development.
According to Al Massae, the PJD will hold 12 portfolios, while the rest of the coalition parties will share the remaining portfolios.
The list of PJD’s ministers is as follows:
Saad Eddin Ottomani: Minister of Foreign Affairs
Mustafa Ramid: Minister of Justice
Najib Bolif: Minister of Finance
Lahcen Daoudi: Minister of Higher Education
Mustafa Al Khalfi: Minister of Culture and Communication
Idriss Al Azami: Minister of Public Affairs and Institutions of Governance
Lahbib Choubani: Minister in charge of Relations with Parliament
Abdullah Baha: Minister of State
Bassima Alhquaoui: Secretary of State in charge of Family and Solidarity
Abdelghani Lakhdar: Minister of Transport and Equipment
Abdelaziz Rebbah: Minister of Public Service
Other sources contacted by Morocco World News’ correspondents in Morocco confirmed that the new government will include 27 ministers.
According to the same sources, the Popular Movement (PM) will be in charge of four ministries, namely, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Ministry of Modernization of Public Sector, the Ministry of Tourism.
Progress and socialism (PPS) will take charge of the Ministry of Housing, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and the ministry of the Moroccan Community Living Abroad.
The independence Party will be entrusted with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Handicraft, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Employment.
The final structure of the new government will be officially released after King Mohamed VI approves Benkirane’s proposed nominees. It remains unclear whether the list of ministers submitted by Abdelilah Benkirane will be approved in its entirety by the monarch, as the latter, according to the constitution, has the power to veto the appointment of any nominees.
While most sources confirm that the new government is expected to be announced on Tuesday, it is not unclear whether the Istiqlal party will settle for the portfolios allocated to it. Sources close to the party’s leadership told Morocco World News that the party is unsatisfied with the nature of ministries it will be entrusted with, adding that the leaders of the Istiqlal did not spare any effort in order to keep the portfolio of Transport and Equipment under the umbrella of their party.
