فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
The decision-makers at the Ministry of Interior have brought back Karim Qasi Lahlo, the former governor of the Marrakech-Safi region, who was previously sidelined within the ministry, to the forefront by entrusting him with the management of the National Relief Directorate, succeeding its former head who retired.
Governor Qasi Lahlo, familiar with the workings of the central administration, is expected to chart a new roadmap for the National Relief Directorate, particularly regarding the disbursement of funds allocated for socio-economic development. These funds have long sparked anger and controversy among senior ministry officials, prompting urgent calls to dispatch audit committees to investigate the spending patterns, identify some beneficiaries, and review completed projects across many provinces and prefectures.
Under Governor Qasi Lahlo’s leadership, the directorate’s audit department itself is expected to conduct thorough audits, reflecting his belief in modernizing and rationalizing the financial and administrative management of local relief offices. The forthcoming monitoring operations are likely to reveal several indicators and produce practical recommendations aimed at restructuring the operations of these offices and establishing good governance in managing the affairs of the national relief sector.
Before the recent parliamentary session and close to the upcoming elections, parliamentarians exposed a major suppressed scandal involving the massive funds allocated to the National Relief sector within local communities — funds some council presidents fraudulently treat as a “cash cow,” especially in terms of employment positions.
Senior elected officials manipulate the positions allocated by provinces and prefectures to National Relief workers, resulting in an unclear number of active sector employees due to tampering with cards and assigned budgets.
Parliamentarians themselves urged decision-makers in the supervising ministry to find a radical solution to this abnormal situation and to open dialogue, as previously demanded by one of the central unions, which fought alongside the relief workers but was met only with deaf ears.
Some parliamentarians, including those employed through electoral patronage in elected councils, questioned: “Is there any law or precedent, nationally or internationally, that allows someone to work 40 years continuously for a monthly wage of just 1,500 dirhams?” They added, “What is worse is that some earn even less, which is a disgrace on successive governments and in blatant violation of Article 31 of the constitution, international charters, and International Labor Organization laws.”
A parliamentary advisor from the Istiqlal party, hailing from the Sahara region, warned that governors and prefects are confiscating national relief cards from beneficiaries’ children and spouses after their death and refusing to transfer benefits to their heirs, a practice that risks fueling social tensions in the area.
This dire situation exposes the deep challenges facing the management of national relief, calling urgently for transparent reforms to ensure respect for beneficiaries’ rights and to improve the management of public resources.
