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President of the Court of Auditors: Exaggerating the Scale of Corruption in Morocco Harms More Than It Helps
Zineb El Adaoui, the first president of the Court of Auditors, affirmed that exaggerating the scale of corruption in Morocco could lead to consequences as serious as the effects of corruption itself. She emphasized that “the current reality shows that overstating financial offenses can cause significant damage to citizens’ trust in institutions.”
This statement was made during a joint public session in Parliament, dedicated to presenting a report on the Court’s accomplishments for the years 2024 and 2025. El Adaoui explained that oversight work typically begins with initial observations that are later included in the final report after receiving responses from the relevant parties, noting that sometimes preliminary observations that leak may not appear in the final report after legal discussions.
El Adaoui mentioned that the number of cases in the field of financial discipline reached 412, with decisions made on 130 of them. This included 38 cases where no accountability was established and 92 cases where fines totaling approximately 4.6 million dirhams were imposed. Eleven of these cases resulted in rulings to return amounts corresponding to losses, while the total amount recovered, including fines, was 5.9 million dirhams.
The president of the Court indicated that 80% of the cases related to financial discipline involved public institutions. The responsible individuals and those authorized to execute budgets accounted for 46% of the subjects, while department heads and managers made up 27%, and employees also constituted 27%. In the regional audit councils, there were 345 individuals involved, including 160 budget trustees (46%), 106 officials from department heads and managers (31%), and 79 employees (23%).
Regarding the nature of the violations, El Adaoui stated that 68% were related to non-compliance with expenditure rules and orders or the submission of incorrect documents. Meanwhile, 60% of violations in regional councils were associated with non-compliance with regulatory texts for public contracts and rules for proving debts. Most of the violations were attributed to weak or absent internal control systems, poor risk management, non-application of procedural guidelines, limited human resources, and a lack of teamwork culture.
In the context of digital transformation and transparency, El Adaoui noted that more than 29% of accounts were submitted electronically, and public accountants returned approximately 16.5 million dirhams to the treasury before the final decisions were issued. The financial courts issued 5,099 final decisions and rulings, including 4,838 decisions of acquittal and 261 decisions indicating a deficit totaling nearly 58.7 million dirhams. This means that 95% of final decisions were in favor of acquittal, while only 5% concerned financial deficits.
El Adaoui stressed the importance of implementing the internal control project within ministerial sectors to strengthen governance and risk management, provided it is practically activated. She clarified that the Court aims through these measures to improve financial management and enhance trust in public institutions.
