Moroccan ‘Ghosts’ Employees: Is It a Real Phenomenon or a Rumor?

By Rachid Khouya

Morocco World News

Es-Semara, Morocco, May 1, 2012

Among the serious problems our public administration suffers from is the phenomenon of ‘Ghost Staff’ or ‘Ghost Employees’. It is worth noting the origin of this terminology to contextualize the topic for readers.

Since the 1990s, Moroccans have started to hear about the term ‘Ghost Staff’, which was coined within administrative circles to refer to other public employees who are certified, “in paper,” as full time staff for the public administrations, but who do not hold any work duties, “in reality”. In other words, they are engaged in other worldly activities and, sometimes, personal businesses, while securing their Government salaries and incomes at the end of the month.

Today, this practice may still be in place and needless to say, it is unfair to public administration personnel who have to report to work and fulfill their work obligations to earn a living. Greek philosopher Socrates said “giving unequal rights to equal citizens is the heart of inequality.” This speaks to the reality of the Moroccan public administration and its unequal treatment.

Nowadays, the new government’s validity is in question, because an escalating number of people are asking whether this phenomenon is true or not. If it is a reality, the government ought to reveal the names of those “ghosts” and to re-assess their rights to work to bring it in conformity with the labor law. Otherwise, they should be fired and be replaced by those great numbers of young unemployed university graduates, men and women, who are suffering daily plight of unemployment.

However, if the ‘Ghost Employees’ phenomenon is unfounded and based on rumors, then, our Government should enlighten the public opinion through a thorough investigation to either confirm or refute this information. The Public have the inalienable rights to obtain information that has an impact on their lives. In this regard, answering to public’s concerns will make it clear that the PJD-lead coalition Government will honor its campaign pledges to make the constitution a living document with enforceable provisions through establishing the foundations of transparency and Government accountability.

According to the online news outlet ‘hespress’, the number of those ‘Ghosts’ outnumbers twenty thousands in public administration, two thousands of which are only in the ministry of education. So, are Mr. Benkirane and his ministers going to put an end to this inherited social problem? And how can we better the services of public administrations, if 20,000 employees are paid for doing nothing? These are open questions directed to the Moroccan Government from a concerned Moroccan citizen.

Rachid Khouya is a teacher of English in Es Smara city, south of Morocco. He obtained a Bachelor Degree in English studies from Ibn Zohr University in Agadir. He published many articles and stories in different regional and national Moroccan newspapers. He is an active member of MATE (Moroccan Association of Teachers of English). He is interested in education, human rights and citizenship (Email: [email protected]).

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy.