Rabat — Abdelilah Benkirane, Secretary General of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) has reiterated his recent remarks, urging Aziz Akhannouch to step down as a Head of Government.
Benkirane made his remarks on Saturday during a speech at the opening session of the PJD’s National Council’s regular meeting.
The speech included sharp criticism against the current cabinet running under Akhannouch, who he accused of “falling into a conflict of interest, torn between money, power, and privilege.”
Akhannouch has been facing criticism from the opposition party for his alleged involvement in a conflict of interest case.
The case involves a recent seawater desalination contract in the Casablanca-Settat region. The bidding process was overseen by the National Office for Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), whose board Akhannouch chairs.
The contract was awarded to a consortium that includes Afriquia Gaz, a company owned by Akhannouch, which was the grounds in which the PJD accused the prime minister of violating the law to serve his interests.
“It is time for this government to step down and leave,” PJD quoted Benkirane as saying during his Saturday speech.
The former head of government also accused Akhannouch of “violating the rights” of over 130,000 widows, who had been receiving MAD 700 to MAD 1,050 (approximately $70 to $100) per month under a family support program.
“Now they only receive 500 dirhams,” PJD said, adding that Akhannouch will be “held accountable for this before God.”
“I feel pain for the widows who have been deprived of support because of an indicator. This must be reviewed from a human perspective,” Benkirane said, adding that Akhannouch is not doing politics but rather “an act of contempt and oppression against the citizens.”
Benkirane and Akhannouch frequently use their parties’ events as opportunities to bring up each other’s allegations and promote their own government’s accomplishments.
In September of last year, Akhannouch responded to Benkirane’s remarks, saying that “insult and slander in politics are expressions of political failure.”
For Benkirane, however, this government “does not care about the people.”
“The tactics it used in the 2021 elections, aligned with the conspiracy that brought it to power, are the methods it will likely use in the 2026 elections,” Benkirane said.
He said that “no government has ever faced public discontent to the extent that this government has.”
