King Mohammed lashes out at administrative bureaucracy
Morocco, Politics, 10/9/1999

King Mohammed VI on Friday criticized what he called "the numerous impediments at the level of legislation and administration."

"We notice the existence of numerous impediments at the level of legislation, administrative procedures, behaviors and dysfunction affecting coordination among administrations," the king said at the opening of the fall session of the bicameral parliament.

The World Bank drew few years ago, at the request of late King Hassan II, a grim picture of the Moroccan administration, accused of hindering the flow of foreign investments into the country.

"We will not succeed in reaching the sought results unless we overcome some handicaps hindering investment, mainly by speeding up the administration's working rhythm, fighting administrative red tape and routine, easing procedures, coordinating among decision-making centers and restoring confidence in the quality of laws and their sound enforcement," King Mohammed VI said.

"How can we overcome these impediments and keep abreast with our era if our administration persists in its lethargy and if major orientations remain ineffective?" he asked.

He recalled the message sent in 1989 by his late father, King Hassan II, to the prime minister calling for easing administrative measures for investors and for processing their files within a two-month deadline.

"If the file is not accepted, the administration should notify its refusal before the deadline. If the administration does not give an answer, the file should be considered as accepted," he said.

"It is obvious that our economy suffers from practices incompatible with the orientation we want to give our action," he added.

"Our kingdom has ushered in reforms that entailed tangible effects on the economic situation but our ambition is to extend growth perspectives even more through promoting small and medium-sized enterprises and giving impetus to public and private, national and foreign investments while encouraging the private sector to be more entrepreneurial. We consider these moves as factors that would regulate economic and social takeoff, promote access to jobs and generate employment for all skills whatever their training levels and, therefore, make advances in development and progress possible," King Mohammed VI stated.

Also, the king urged the Moroccan bicameral parliament to improve its working methods and rationalize its debates.

"We expect the two chambers to revise their internal regulations by coordinating their action, through the setting up of joint commissions, considering that the two chambers are not separate parliaments, but rather two chambers of the same parliament," the king said at the opening of the fall session of the parliament.

A 1996 constitutional amendment set up a bicameral parliament, including a 325-seat house of representatives (lower house), fully elected at the direct universal suffrage, and a 270-seat chamber of advisors (upper house), elected by a college of voters.

"Debates on relevant issues should be rationalized and repetitions avoided to make the best of the time devoted to these debates, whether at the level of commissions or at that of the plenary sessions in a bid to perfect parliamentary practice and achieve more progress," the king said.

The king underlined his determination to continue backing the consolidation of the parliament's role "whether in the legislative field or in matters of checking and balancing the government's action by means of the mechanisms it is endowed with, based on our firm belief that democracy's cornerstone is the separation and the balance of powers."

"We aspire to seeing legislation become an engine of social action and a tool of economic takeoff, rather than be over paced by the economic and social progress," he said, adding that, "The responsibility is undoubtedly shared between the government and the parliament regarding the updating of texts to innovations."

Previous Stories:
  A prime minister statement for the opening of parliament   (10/8/1999)
  Moroccan princess places women issues of top of Moroccan priorities   (10/6/1999)
  King Mohammed receives Saudi Crown Prince   (10/2/1999)
  Moroccan minister expounds economic efforts, cuts applications processing time from days to hours   (11/25/1998)

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