Morocco unveils new national centre to monitor corruption

10/01/2008

At the new National Corruption Monitoring and Transparency Development Centre in Casablanca, Transparency Maroc will work to track, publicise and resolve corruption problems throughout the country. The NGO is calling on the government to make its anti-corruption action plan a reality.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 10/01/08

[Sarah Touahri] Azeddine Akesby, Secretary-General of Transparency Maroc said it can be difficult to prove incidences of corruption. To prevent slander, complainants will "be asked to provide hard evidence including financial accounts and video footage, if possible".

Transparency Maroc kicked off the New Year by opening the National Corruption Monitoring and Transparency Development Centre in Casablanca. Created in November 2007 with the financial support of the Embassy of the Netherlands, the centre has just begun work on tackling corruption, assisting victims of the problem and building integrity in both the government and the private sector.

The new facility will inform public policy on corruption prevention and gather data on corruption, governance and transparency. It will also advise corruption victims and whistle-blowers through a support and legal advice network. The centre has a hotline and a contact e-mail address for people wishing to make reports.

Transparency Maroc Secretary-General Azeddine Akesbi acknowledged that it can be difficult to prove incidences of corruption. To prevent slander, complainants will "be asked to provide hard evidence including financial accounts and video footage, if possible," he explained.

Akesbi said Transparency Maroc hopes to involve the private sector, NGOs and specialist bodies in its work. "Plans have been announced to create a National Corruption Prevention Authority which could be given some of the information we generate and act on complaints which we receive here at the monitoring centre. We're therefore calling for co-operation with partner agencies, whether state-run or otherwise," he said.

By collecting information, the centre will be able to lead thinking on a number of specific issues, including Morocco's legislative elections in September. Transparency International, the governing NGO for the Casablanca centre, already works worldwide on bringing corrupt politicians to justice, monitoring elections and investigating vote-buying and parliamentary ethics.

Transparency Maroc says that the country must make a united effort to stamp out the corruption that is entrenched in Moroccan society. Political will is necessary to end impunity, Akesbi emphasised. "We need to see this desire translated into action on the ground. We shouldn’t be focusing primarily on specific, isolated cases – we need to clean up the system as a whole," he told Magharebia.

He is calling on the government to make its anti-corruption action plan a reality. "We already have the framework – the United Nations Convention, which has been ratified. Now it’s time to take action. The government has a huge weight of responsibility on its shoulders since they’re the ones who hold executive power. We also need to get political parties involved during election campaigns," he added.

Exposing the damaging effects of corruption is just as vital as enforcing penalties, noted Professor Mohamed Mrani. "It’s up to the media, in partnership with civil society and the state to raise awareness," he said.

Mrani added, "This phenomenon is well-entrenched in Morocco. Over the course of time, it has become a culture all of its own."

However, there is one recent, objective indicator of some progress. Morocco improved its ranking in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, climbing from 79th to 72nd place in 2007 among the 179 countries listed by the NGO.