In recent years, Morocco improved its global ranking in transparency, but the efforts must be ongoing in order to continue to reduce corruption even.
Rabat – The fight against corruption is a “long and difficult” process and should be an ongoing and collective national project, said Morocco’s Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani.
El Othmani gave the statement at the opening of the third Conference of States Parties to the Arab Anti-Corruption Convention, on Tuesday, January 7, in Rabat.
During his speech, the Head of Government stressed that the fight against corruption does not only concern governments and official institutions, but has a horizontal national characteristic.
The success of the fight against corruption is dependent on the complementary efforts by everybody, he added.
Fighting corruption, weakening it, and limiting its effects will lead to a positive impact on economic and social indicators in the medium and long term, according to El Othmani.
The official also called for benefiting from all the experiences and expertise of those who have succeeded in reducing corruption.
El Othmani recalled that Morocco adopted a national strategy to fight corruption and created a national committee in charge of overseeing the implementation of this strategy in 2015.
The national plan spans ten years and aims to foster the trust of citizens and reinforce the culture of integrity in the business world and improve its climate. It also seeks to strengthen the position of Morocco internationally.
Morocco’s efforts have paid off, according to El Othmani, since the Kingdom improved its ranking in the corruption perceptions index, produced by Transparency International, by 17 spots and six points in two years. The country jumped from the 90th place in 2017 to the 73rd of 180 countries in 2019.
El Othmani made the statement at a conference organized by Morocco, in partnership with the League of Arab States, and the National Authority for Probity, Prevention, and the Fight against Corruption (INPPLC).
