Rabat – LafargeHolcim Maroc, the Moroccan subsidiary of a global cement company, has appointed Ali Fassi Fihri to chair its board. Fassi Fihri is replacing former chair Tarafa Marouane, who resigned.
The company made the announcement in a press release issued after the March 19 LafargeHolcim board meeting.
Established in 2015 by the merger of cement companies Lafarge and Holcim, LafargeHolcim describes itself as the leading global building materials company serving masons, builders, architects, and engineers. The company also holds offices in 80 countries and employs 90,000 employees.
LafargeHolcim Maroc posted a significant drop, 18 percent, in its International Financial Reporting Standards consolidated net income from 2017 to 2018. The company’s income was MAD 1.584 billion in 2018 compared to MAD 1.927 billion in 2017.
Fassi Fihri managed the National Office for Drinking Water and Electricity (ONEE) for 15 years from October 2002 to October 2017, when King Mohammed VI dismissed him from his post.
The royal decision, part of what became known as the “political earthquake,” came after the King expressed discontent with the slow pace of development projects in northern Morocco’s Al Hoceima area. The King had inaugurated the “Al Hoceima, Manarat Al Moutawassit” initiative to develop the region in October 2015, but the projects met irregular delays.
An investigation by the Court of Auditors into the developmental delays in Al Hoceima revealed serious imbalances. When King Mohammed VI received the report, he made a series of dismissals.
Read also: Unprecedented: King Mohammed VI Sacks Ministers, Senior Officials, Following ‘Dysfunctions’ in Al Hoceima Projects
Along with Fassi Fihri, the King dismissed four ministers from Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani’s cabinet, a right the King retains under Article 47 of the Constitution.
The King fired education minister Mohamed Hassad, health minister El Houcine Louardi, housing minister Nabil Benabdellah, and Secretary of State for Vocational Training Larbi Bencheikh.
