Rabat – The Moroccan government is pushing for thorough investigations into a number of yet-to-be-completed government-funded projects, promising to recover “lost funds.”
The move, which was announced by the head of government, Saad Eddine El Othmani, comes days after King Mohammed VI’s Throne Day speech which called for a more accountable and responsible management of national resources.
El Othmani said that a team of auditors will investigate a number of pending government-funded projects in the coming weeks to learn the reasons for the delay and ensure that the money allocated was not used for other purposes, Moroccan newspaper Assabah reported.
The newspaper added that the investigations will primarily focus on the education and health sectors, especially as the government is keen to implement reforms to improve quality of education and health facilities.
Beginning in October, both the Court of Auditors and teams of independent investigators will assess the performance of health and education-related projects awaiting completion, years after funding was allocated and received, according to a government source cited by Assabah.
In response to the announcement, the education ministry has launched its own investigation, requesting a full account of project progress from schools that received funding in recent years.
The Ain Chock Faculty of Sciences in Casablanca is one of the many learning institutions targeted by the education ministry. The ministry has reportedly sent the university’s administration a letter asking for progress updates on an MAD 9 million project for which Ain Chock received government funding in 2017.
Assabah further noted that the Ain Chock Faculty is also likely to be asked to account for a 2014 project that has still not been completed. The school’s administration had requested government funds to expand its capacity by building two amphitheaters, “but the facilities were never built.”
The education ministry is also reported to be working on a bill to make access to government scholarships more inclusive and more transparent.
