The Administrative Court in Casablanca has dismissed Tarek Al-Qadri, the head of the Berrechid municipality, along with his first deputy and three other deputies, as well as three council advisors, from their positions on the municipal council. This decision follows their suspension by the Ministry of the Interior and the referral of their cases to the administrative judiciary.
The ruling came after detailed reports from the inspection committee of the General Inspection of Territorial Administration, which conducted a comprehensive visit to the municipality’s facilities. This examination involved scrutinizing permits, public contracts, taxes, and the organization of public properties. The court found that the responses provided by the officials were insufficient to address the questions raised by the regional governor, Jamal Khalouk, relying on the field notes recorded by the inspectors.
The affected individuals plan to appeal the decision, focusing on reviewing the responses they provided to the inspection committee during the ten days granted to them, particularly concerning the management of permits, the powers of deputy officials, and the absence of what some reports termed “tax betrayal” along with other financial irregularities.
The governor of Berrechid had made the decision to suspend them based on the recommendations of the inspection committee and under Article 64 of the Organic Law No. 113.14 concerning municipalities, which empowers governors to suspend elected officials and refer their cases to the judiciary upon confirmation of serious violations affecting governance principles and the proper management of public funds.
This move is part of a growing wave of inspection campaigns targeting several municipal heads in recent times, amid increasing cases of referrals of other files to the Corruption Crimes Court for investigations into criminal suspicions related to the embezzlement of public funds and manipulation of contracts and bonds.
