فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Member of Parliament for the Socialist Union Party, Mehdi Al-Alawi, is expected to appear tomorrow, Thursday, before the investigating judge of the First Chamber specialized in financial crimes at the Court of Appeal in Fez. This is part of a detailed investigation involving him and 34 others, including 10 public officials and contractors, concerning financial and administrative irregularities in the management of the “Melaab” commune in Errachidia Province during the previous municipal term.
The Public Prosecutor decided to refer Al-Alawi and others to the investigating judge to hear allegations of “embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds and forgery of official documents,” following the receipt of investigation reports prepared by the Regional Criminal Police Unit. These reports highlighted serious financial irregularities documented by the General Inspectorate of Territorial Administration regarding the management of the municipal council.
The investigation uncovered violations in managing municipal revenues, including imposing unauthorized fees on beverage shops and the extraction of quarry materials, failure to apply legal procedures to those who failed to declare or pay dues on time, tenants’ negligence in paying rents for municipal properties, as well as low and unrevised rent prices.
The report also revealed irregularities in expense management, such as issuing large purchase orders without clear technical specifications, awarding architectural studies to unqualified offices, excessive pricing in vehicle purchasing and fuel, scheduling well-drilling projects without technical studies or permits from the basin agency, and contracting with technically unqualified companies.
Additionally, the report pointed to granting material privileges to cooperatives, disbursing large sums without legal justification, the council president unilaterally determining grants to associations without clear criteria, and signing payment lists and invoices before they were certified by technical officials—this constitutes a violation of Article 53 of the decree related to public accounting for local authorities.
The report also highlighted an unjustified 47.9% increase in expenditures for temporary agents between 2017 and 2019 without an objective need, employing non-transparent methods in managing these agents. This reflects significant mismanagement of the council’s financial and human resources.
These findings place a legal responsibility on the judicial authorities to pursue accountability for those involved, aiming to restore public trust and ensure the rule of law in local governance.
