The King rebuked multiple ministers on Thursday for the slow pace of reforms in Morocco, calling out what he felt was unacceptable behavior.
Rabat – King Mohammed VI has called out the minister of industry’s failure to perform satisfactorily, asking Moulay Hafid Elalamy to put the nation’s interests before his own.
The King made the eyebrow-raising comments during a high-profile “work meeting” on Thursday at the Royal Palace of Rabat.
The King had summoned Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani and a number of ministers in charge of strategic departments to discuss “a strategic reorientation” for employment and vocational training.
Investing in youth employment and establishing a match between school curricula and the labor market’s needs prominently feature in the King’s successive push for a well-performing and inclusive labor market.
The King has steadily called in the majority of his recent speeches for a new economic model that ensures accountability and inclusiveness, bridging the country’s socio-economic gap.
He has especially called for more improvement and more efforts in areas such as energy and industry, as well as education and professional training, where satisfactory output is thought to vastly improve the country’s employment prospects.
The King felt, however, that the ministers in charge of the strategic departments have not been doing enough for the success of his inclusiveness and efficiency roadmap, “one of the participants” told Moroccan outlet Medias 24.
“You have been incapable of even producing a viable report on professional training,” King Mohammed VI reportedly fumed at the vocational training and employment minister. The King showed his frustration at the ministry’s inability to carry out reforms.
Of all the ministers who attended the restricted meeting, Elalamy incurred the bulk of the royal fury, the participant noted to Medias 24.
In addition to pointing out Elalamy’s department’s failure to meet royal expectations, King Mohammed VI called out the minister’s “arrogant behavior” and his dual nationality. Elalamy also holds Canadian citizenship, having graduated from Sherbrooke University in Quebec and served as a senior advisor in Quebec’s finance ministry.
Earlier this year, in January, the King launched the Souss-Massa section of Morocco’s Industrial Acceleration Plan. The goal was to rekindle industry and create 22,000 jobs for the Souss-Massa region. The King complained, however, that very little has been done in one year to meet the goals.
Angered by the slow pace and the unsatisfactory realization witnessed since he personally initiated the industrial plan, the King personalized the failure of Elalamy’s department. He fulminated at the minister’s “arrogant behavior unbefitting of public responsibility.”
The King concluded by reminding Elalamy that the nation’s interests should always come before his own.
