Morocco's corruption rankings get worse

Image via WikipediaTransparency International's 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index lists Morocco in 80th place, signifying a fall of eight places since last year. Moroccans remain optimistic about the fight against corruption, but say the problem's root causes still need to be addressed.

Morocco has taken a step backward in its fight against corruption, according to recent data from Transparency International. The group's 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index shows Morocco in 80th place out of 180 countries, a drop of eight places over 2007. The scores are the result of six inquiries on the ground, led by independent international agencies.

Rachid Filali Meknassi, Secretary-General of Transparency Maroc, said in a press briefing on Tuesday (September 23rd) that corruption has become systemic. "Morocco's fall in the rankings is due to the failure to effectively apply the reforms announced by the government to fight this phenomenon," he said.

Transparency has expressed its disappointment with the decree to set up the central anti-corruption court, creating a body which is deprived both of institutional autonomy and of any power to investigate or take legal action.

The legal system and the administration are the sectors most affected. The association has called on authorities for "more effort to combat corruption in the country".

Transparency says the measures needed to fight corruption should include a legal component. Protections also need to be included for citizens who report facts concerning offences to the relevant authorities in good faith and on the grounds of reasonable suspicion, under the terms of the United Nations convention on corruption.

According to the Moroccan government, this ranking is not based on an objective analysis of corruption, but on a simple study of perceptions of corruption. The government has said there is a great desire to eradicate this phenomenon, citing the creation of the central anti-corruption court, along with legal measures already put in place such as the passing of laws relating to money-laundering, delegated management and public officials' declaration of assets.

Nevertheless, concrete results are needed for the set objectives to be achieved. A government action plan under discussion since 2006 is intended to improve Morocco’s rating in the index. Objectives include simplified administrative procedures, establishing ethical and moral values and standards, strengthening transparency in the management of public sector tenders, improved monitoring, control and audits, and education on related issues.

MP Lahcen Daoudi told Magharebia that corruption affects all areas, beginning with elections."Corruption is a catastrophe and the government is doing nothing to eradicate it. They must set up barriers against it in legislation," he said.

Meanwhile, fellow MP Fatima Mustaghfir said the fight against corruption is a matter for which the public, the administration and the authorities must all assume responsibility.

"It is important to realise that corruption is due to low wages and also a feeling of injustice. We have to work on those areas," she told Magharebia.

There are many who feel that the state must act on major incidences of corruption, rather than focusing on the smaller cases. IT worker Hamid Zahrani said that to set an example for Moroccans, the government has a duty to clean up the administration and bring the major cases before the courts, so that the public's confidence in the authorities can be restored.

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Moroccan "Sniper" has corrupt police in his sights

Image via CrunchBaseBy Zakia Abdennebi
http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSL1212915920071114?pageNumber=3&virtualBrandChannel=0

AL HOCEIMA, Morocco (Reuters) - Armed with only a small video camera, a young Moroccan man has harnessed the power of the Internet to expose a local scandal of police corruption.
Crouched on a hill above a road in Morocco's northern cannabis growing region, the "Sniper" filmed a group of uniformed traffic police for hours as they stopped almost every van that passed and held out their hands for a bribe.
None of the drivers seemed to complain -- the gendarmes smiled and shook their victims hands before waving them on. But the viewer is left in no doubt over what is happening.
The Sniper chose the anonymity of the Internet to expose his evidence for fear of reprisals by local authorities.
To his surprise, the video has drawn tens of thousands of viewers around the world and made him a hero among downtrodden Moroccans tired of paying bribes to civil servants to avoid a fine or to obtain official papers, health care and justice.
"Take up your cameras, dear Moroccans," said one commentator on YouTube who identified himself as Youyoubes. "Such scenes you will find on any street corner. Unfortunately there is not a sniper in every house."
In a Reuters interview, the Sniper said his videos had sent a clear message to Moroccans: that they could fight corruption now instead of waiting in vain for the government to act.
"Fighting corruption is the duty of Morocco's youth before the government musters the willingness to wipe it out," he said He asked not to be named as he said he feared reprisals.
"If the government stands idle, citizens and society will lend a hand in the fight against corruption, even with the rudimentary tools they have," he added.
"STARK EVIDENCE"
Human rights activists hail the Sniper as a hero but worry police might arrest him if he were to be identified. Leading rights lawyer Abderrahim al Jamai said he feared Sniper would be pressured to "confess" to making up the videos, if arrested.
The independent Moroccan Human Rights Association (AMDH) criticised police for hunting him, saying that an unspecified number of youths from Sniper's home village, Tarjist, were arrested by police seeking his identity and whereabouts.
"I apologise to Tarjist youth who have been kidnapped," the Sniper said, adding he had named his first video "Genuine Claim" to emphasise his sincerity in fighting corruption.
"I named the other Stark Evidence to underpin the truthfulness of the first video, which prompted authorities to cast doubts on it as a manufactured film," he said.
Government officials in the north African state, a monarchy in which the king wields paramount powers over a weak parliament, were not immediately available for comment.
But the official news agency MAP reported those policemen caught on Sniper's camera were on trial. It gave no details.

Sniper said he felt corruption was more pervasive on his mountainous Hoceima region where many farmers grow cannabis and are easy targets for police seeking bribes.
He said he did not want to suggest all police in the region were corrupt. Police and other state employees should, he said, earn decent wages to shield them from graft temptation.
Moroccans say they run risks if they try to upset powerful vested interests involved in corruption, especially in the north where the cannabis industry represents a big parallel economy.
Three lawyers in Tetouan town were expelled from the bar in March for publicly condemning graft in the judiciary, drawing condemnation from the local arm of Transparency International.
(Writing by Lamine Ghanmi; editing by Tom Pfeiffer, William Maclean and Ralph Boulton)

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