By Safaa Kasraoui
By Safaa Kasraoui
Rabat – Government spokesperson Mustapha El Khalfi has asked press to report faithfully on the progress of development projects in the Rif to combat the spread of “fake news.”
Following a government council meeting held on Thursday, El Khalfi said that the government is undertaking a set of measures in order to respond to the demands of Al Hoceima protesters, adding that government officials hold meetings on a daily basis intended to accelerate development projects in the region.
“We are following all development programs that started in the province of Al Hoceima with full interest. Most of these projects are programmed to be implemented before deadlines,” said El Khalfi.
He stressed that there will be no delay regarding the projects. “We will continue to communicate with the public in order to provide them with data through an initiative very soon.”
The spokesman said the government will be counting on the press to highlight these programs because, “some fake news [has taken] us by surprise.”
El Khalfi also said that the head of the government Saad Eddine El Othmani has called on the members of the government to be always in contact with the press and to answer their questions immediately “because it is the government’s duty to give accurate data to journalists.”
He added that there are two plans in dealing with the Rif protests. The first aims at accelerating the pace of projects while the second covers implementation of dialogue and update the programmed projects.
“The government has not closed the door to dialogue and civil initiative for the Rif,” added El Khalfi.