During a public session in the House of Representatives, Mrs. Zineb El Adaoui, President of the Court of Auditors, delivered an important address analyzing and evaluating the technical work carried out by local authorities between 2019 and 2023. El Adaoui confirmed that this period saw the execution of 87 technical studies, with a total cost of 1.667 million dirhams, funded through 394 public contracts and 435 million dirhams from purchase orders. These studies covered various fields, with roads accounting for 32%, urban development for 22%, and buildings for 17%.
Despite the significant investments, El Adaoui highlighted several shortcomings in these technical studies. One of the key issues was the lack of accuracy in defining the projects, their components, and their estimated costs before launching tenders. She also pointed out deficiencies in the selection process of consulting firms, noting that non-objective criteria were used, weakening the principle of transparent competition, such as the requirement for certifications unrelated to the subject of the studies. Furthermore, she revealed that only 7% of consulting firms received 34% of the public contracts, indicating a concentration in the distribution of tenders.
El Adaoui also emphasized the lack of effective follow-up on the projects resulting from these studies, where no adequate deadlines were set for completion, nor were the expected outcomes clearly defined. She noted significant discrepancies between regions in terms of project implementation rates, with some regions seeing rates between 54% and 92%, while others did not exceed 44%. Additionally, some studies, costing over 104 million dirhams, had not led to any tangible projects.
To improve public procurement management and optimize resource utilization, El Adaoui presented several recommendations, including strengthening human resources, particularly in rural areas, adopting objective criteria to ensure the best technical and economic offers, and defining clear outcomes for technical studies in line with their objectives.
El Adaoui explained that the Court of Auditors is committed to monitoring the implementation of its recommendations to ensure sustainable and positive impact. She noted that 44% of the Court’s recommendations have been fully implemented, 37% partially implemented, while 19% remain unexecuted due to challenges related to coordination between public agencies and the need for additional legislative, financial, or human resources.
In conclusion, El Adaoui stressed the importance of promoting good governance in public management, emphasizing that the Court of Auditors will continue its oversight role to ensure that citizens and investors benefit optimally from public resources.
source: fesnews media