Maghreb Edition

Morocco: Fallout from el-Hoceima unrest: Royal purge of government continuesF

Posted On 22 November 2017

Number of times this article was read : 375

The North Africa Journal – November 22, 2017: On November 13, 2017, a second round of firings hit the Moroccan government, with King Mohammed VI dismissing no less than seven General Secretaries of ministries for their alleged incompetence in implementing the state’s economic program for the Rif region, and El-Hoceima specifically.

The first to go was Abdelouahed Fikrat, the General Secretary at the Prime Ministry. It’s hard to know why Fikrat was fired, considering that he was just the second most senior official at the Ministry of the Environment when the unrest in El-Hoceima started. And the Ministry of Environment hardly calls the shots when it comes to regional economic development.

In addition to the sacked General Secretaries at the ministries of tourism, health, culture, housing, and youth/sports, three Central Directors were among a list of dismissals that is expected to expand over the coming months.

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The North Africa Journal is a leading English-language publication focused on North Africa. The Journal covers primarily the Maghreb region and expands its general coverage to the Sahel, Egypt, and beyond, when events in those regions affect the broader North Africa geography. The Journal does not have any affiliation with any institution and has been independent since its founding in 1996. Our position is to always bring our best analysis of events affecting the region, and remain as neutral as humanly possible. Our coverage is not limited to one single topic, but ranges from economic and political affairs, to security, defense, social and environmental issues. We rely on our full staff analysts and editors to bring you best-in-class analysis. We also work with sister company MEA Risk LLC, to leverage the presence on the ground of a solid network of contributors and experts. Information on MEA Risk can be found at www.MEA-Risk.com.