Council of Casablanca-Settat: A Call for Legal Compliance Amidst Ongoing Irregularities
On October 8, 2026, during the October session of the Casablanca-Settat Regional Council, Rashid Al-Qabeel, a council member representing the Justice and Development Party (PJD), vocally criticized the council's consistent disregard for legal protocols. He highlighted that the only constant in the council’s operations throughout this term has been its persistent violations of the law, which was evident during the October meeting. Al-Qabeel pointed out that the agenda and comprehensive documents were only provided to the members 48 hours before the session, whereas the regulatory law 111.14 mandates a minimum of seven days’ notice. This tight timeline effectively renders any discussion within the session superficial and lacking in seriousness.
Furthermore, Al-Qabeel noted the poor attendance at committee meetings, where only a handful of council members turned up out of approximately 75, and discussions were based on vague summaries rather than detailed documents. This situation often left members face-to-face with civil servants, while the political leaders merely distributed speaking opportunities without engaging in meaningful discussions. He described the session as "empty" in terms of substantive content, mired in amendments and cancellations, with no new projects or initiatives emerging for the region. This raises a critical question regarding the lack of financial resources, creativity, and developmental ambition, leading to the perception that the region has reached a state of complacency.
Al-Qabeel also commented on the financial committee’s report, revealing that its only attendee was the committee's president, along with a few external representatives and staff members, with no council members present. This absence raised concerns about who the president was discussing matters with and how recommendations were approved. Al-Qabeel humorously referred to this as a "one-man show," where the president presented a report on behalf of a committee that had no members in attendance. He emphasized the importance of council members being the ones to study and discuss agenda points, while civil servants should only provide technical clarifications.
In the second session, the council allocated time for written questions, during which PJD council members raised four inquiries regarding the outcomes of four partnership agreements approved by the council, totaling nearly 9 million dirhams. These agreements involved cultural initiatives and development projects, and the questions aimed to shed light on the status of these agreements, the allocation of public funds, and whether monitoring committees had convened. Among these was a one-year agreement ratified in July 2022, the status of which remains unclear to this day.
Al-Qabeel also reiterated concerns regarding violations of the council's internal regulations, which had been agreed upon by the majority itself. Article 80 of these regulations mandates that questions be organized in the agenda based on their subject matter and the date the president receives them. However, this has not been adhered to, with each session simply listing "written questions" without any detail. This not only signifies a breach of the law but also represents a failure by the president to uphold commitments made previously to comply with the law in subsequent sessions. Al-Qabeel stressed that the ongoing disregard for legal norms indicates underlying political motives aimed at obscuring accountability and oversight, which has led to the PJD being the only party posing written questions, while other factions have refrained from doing so for several sessions.
Al-Qabeel lamented the disarray resulting from this manufactured majority, linking it to the low voter turnout of 38% in the recent legislative elections. He argued that when elected institutions are stripped of their significance, voter apathy is a natural outcome. In closing, Al-Qabeel congratulated his party, the PJD, for politically emerging as the first winner in the recent elections, quadrupling their number of seats from 13 to 54, with clean votes, devoid of any dubious practices.
As reported by pjd.ma.
