Casablanca, January 20, 2026 – Moroccan financial authorities are scrutinizing over 130 million dirhams (roughly $13 billion cents) in stalled local advancement projects, raising concerns about potential mismanagement and misappropriation of funds. Inspection teams are currently auditing investment files across four regions: Casablanca-Settat, Marrakech-Safi, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, and Béni Mellal-Khénifra.
Audit Reveals Projects Stalled, Funds Questioned
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Investigations target infrastructure projects with completion rates as low as 30%.
- Audits focus on projects years in the planning but never completed.
- initial assessments show many projects are less than 30% finished despite funding.
- Concerns include poor project management, lack of expertise, and potential manipulation of contracts.
- Investigations are expected to continue through May, with detailed reports to follow.
The audit, which began primarily in the Casablanca-Settat region, centers on infrastructure projects and efforts to improve basic services in isolated areas. early findings indicate that some local authorities have only completed around 30% of the work they were funded to do. This sluggish progress, according to preliminary reports, isn’t necessarily due to a lack of money, but rather to issues with project management and a shortage of specialized skills.
Strategic Vision and Project Management Under Scrutiny
Magistrates from the financial courts have noted that delays aren’t typically caused by insufficient funding. Instead, they point to a lack of clear strategic planning and a limited capacity among local authorities to effectively prepare, design, and manage projects. The inspections have also uncovered suspicions of fraudulent activity, with some contracts appearing to exist “only on paper,” suggesting potential overruns or misuse of allocated funds.
The audit missions, slated to continue until May, will involve dozens of local authorities.Detailed reports will be compiled on overdue projects, outlining the reasons for their incompletion, based on responses requested from community presidents. These reports will include specific, point-by-point recommendations to address identified issues.
Data-Driven examination
Financial jurisdictions will leverage a digital platform created by the Ministry of the Interior to monitor contract deadlines and payments made to companies and service providers. They will also analyze data from the General Treasury of the Kingdom, tracking payments to companies, and information from the General Directorate of Taxes related to public procurement documents.
Inspectors are also reviewing complaints filed by companies that were excluded from public contracts and municipal purchase orders.These complaints allege that some local officials created shell companies owned by relatives or friends, awarding them contracts without competitive bidding. This practice allegedly involved developing specific criteria to eliminate competing companies and ensure contracts went to favored firms, potentially leading to manipulation during project execution.
Concerns Over Conflicts of Interest
The complaints further highlight suspicions of “market exchanges” between municipal officials, designed to circumvent conflict-of-interest regulations. This alleged scheme involves one community official awarding a contract to a company linked to an official in another community, who would than reciprocate by facilitating contracts for the first official within their jurisdiction.
key Concerns – The primary focus is on ensuring public funds are used effectively and transparently, addressing stalled projects, and identifying any instances of mismanagement or fraudulent activity within local authorities.
