Mohamed Bashir Al -Rashdi, Chairman of the National Authority for Integrity and Prevention and Function of Bribery, affirmed that the authority aspires, with the rest of the intervene, to move to a new era of fighting corruption in Morocco.
Al -Rashdi considered, in this dialogue with the electronic newspaper Hespress, that the position of Morocco in the index of corruption perception is not satisfied, and that the efforts made to combat this scourge are not at the level of aspirations.
What is your explanation for the weak results achieved by Morocco in the field of anti -corruption?
In the annual report, we touched on this issue, as we highlighted the efforts made by Morocco two decades ago, and we reminded of a set of initiatives and programs that were established and implemented, even partially, including the government program 2005 and then the second program 2010 - 2011, then the national strategy to combat corruption thatIt extends from 2015 to 2025.
This strategy is characterized by being available on the foundations that make it an integrated strategy, starting with the diagnosis and determining the factors affecting the spread of corruption;Its preparation is also widely distinguished by the private sector, civil society and government sectors.
What has been done is considered a positive accumulation, but the anti -corruption situation remains at a low level, whether in terms of dotting or in terms of the ranking position compared to other countries, as Morocco during the past two decades is only three points on a hundred, and in terms of arrangement remained inNon -satisfactory position.
This situation prompted the National Authority for Integrity and Bribery Prevention and its fighting since the appointment of its president in late 2018 to assume an objective evaluation of the strategy approved to fight corruption in Morocco, to understand the reasons for this paradox that makes the results of the efforts made.
The annual report that we issued gave directions to restructure the national strategy to combat corruption, scrutinize its contents, and to define the priorities that will make the procedures and reforms that Morocco will undertake with influence and give a comprehensive dynamic start;We also submitted recommendations for the management of this strategy in order to achieve its goals.
I would like to confirm here that if the governance is not controlled and there is no purity and harmony that cannot be reached by the envisaged results, especially that the scourge of corruption is a complex issue, and spoilers take advantage of all means, including technology, to develop their work mechanisms and make it more complicated, which is what necessitates youThe Anti -Corruption Front is a ability to be familiar with and pre -emptive, and this will not be achieved without gathering between all mechanisms and programs that are placed to fight corruption, and integration in the work of all interlocutors, to make corruption go in a descending curve and sustainable how to be.
There are those who say that the reason for the poor anti -corruption is due to the absence of a real will.What is your comment on this opinion?
This is a discussion in the square for years, and the objective answer to the questions posed in this regard should be done by developing integrated strategic plans, and that there are clear priorities, and have concrete effects on the lives of citizens and on economic and civil actors.
If we cannot reach the change of reality, these questions will continue to be raised, so the will to fight corruption must be translated through programs and via the impact on the position of citizens to feel that there is a change, and this is what will make them engage in the anti -corruption front and its resistance.
Why was the policies currently not able to achieve this effect?
In a brief way, I will list some of the reasons that make us not advance as required in fighting corruption;The first reason is that the approach followed is a sectoral approach that is more than a comprehensive approach, and therefore there is no significant integration between the various interlocutors.
Corruption is a complex issue that cannot be addressed with separate measures that are not subject to a comprehensive, integrated and compact approach.
The second reason is related to the determination of priorities. The privacy of corruption is that it has multiple reasons and manifestations, and therefore it should be resisted on several levels, whether at the level of sensitization and mobilization or at the prevention level to know the foci of corruption that makes the scourge grow and spread, as well as at the level of non -impunity.
If we want to succeed in this endeavor, we must first set the priorities to know what goals we should achieve in the short term, as well as the average and long periods.
These priorities must be metaphor, that is, there is an agreement about it between the various interlocutors and institutions, and to work on their feet in a serious and bold manner.
In the constitutional side, the legislator set a framework, which is the National Authority for the Prevention of Bribery and its fight, which has specializations, including supervision, coordination and tracking, and this would ensure convergence in the work of the interlocutors, and we also guarantee the passage to a new era to fight corruption, based on a coordinated strategy in which everyone is involved and makes responsibilitiesPractice in an interconnected and integrated way.
What is your perception to fight unlawful enrichment?
The peculiarity of the illegal enrichment lies, first, in determining what is the crime of unlawful enrichment, in order to be clear and impressive, whether at the level of identification and diagnosis or at the level of follow -up and punishment.These aspects should be integrated and interconnected, and to be placed in a specific framework, in order to keep pace with developments that can occur, and in order to ensure the effectiveness of control procedures.
We have suggested setting a special law that afflicts all these aspects and gives the necessary effectiveness to combat illegal enrichment procedures, and we also stressed that this special legislative framework must be linked to the compulsory declaration of property, as a basis for proving the illicit enrichment.
Does this also require changing the legal framework of the Supreme Council of Accounts?
exactly.We considered this topic a priority, and we have presented a parallel report in addition to the annual report of the year 2020, and we also stood on the major constraints faced by the Supreme Council of Accounts, especially in terms of the amount of deposits compared to the capabilities that it can be harnessed in the monitoring process.
The current legal framework of the Supreme Council of Accounts makes it difficult to play the role required of it, and we have made clear recommendations that include the legislative, institutional and organizational aspect, and we stressed the need to develop an advanced and integrated information system, and has the ability to analyze data in a comprehensive and automatic way, in order to determine the cases thatIt can be suspicions.
There are those who say that the green number that was set for bribery only drops the "young scratching"?
this is not true.The green number caused by the Presidency of the Public Prosecution not only aims to bribe a few hundred dirhams, but there are files from another level.
The peculiarity of this line is that it is concerned with the cases of bribery that can be seized in a state of flagrante delicto, and this is a positive issue, and it has created progress, even if it is insufficient.
The major files can be more complicated, and may not be dressed in them, and therefore the approach to its treatment is different, as it requires determining the situation, and the conduct of research and scrutiny, as it requires the cooperation of multiple powers.
Do you think that the state has the ability to confront the "great corrupt"?
It is not possible to talk about the issue of the existence of the will or not, what is important that there is an interest in researching corruption files, and in order for these practices to retreat there mustIntegrity is institutionalized.
This approach must be developed, structured and setting the mechanisms of its implementation, and this is what we envisage from the new stage, in order to reduce these practices.
What is the reason for not entering the law of the National Integrity Commission into implementation, despite its publication in the Official Gazette?
I suggest that the reason is linked to the renewal of the implementation and legislative institutions collection after the recent legislative elections.
According to the information we received, the course of appointments has been started again.
Do you think that the new law will authorize the intonation of the work of the National Integrity Commission?
This is an intuitive issue, and this is why we are cultivated for persuasion and interaction with all the authorities, institutions and sectors.
There was a great work to reach the final formula that maintains the holistic view of combating corruption provided by the Integrity and Prevention of Bribery and its fight since 2019, so that we have a framework that makes the authority able to contribute to an effective way to prevent and fight corruption.
The new law allows the Authority to provide strategic directions for international policies in the field of prevention and fighting corruption, and the authority to supervise and coordinate and ensure tracking policies and procedures related to its field of intervention, and control powers to carry out research and investigations in corruption files, which come through complaints, communication, or information that they reach, and can beShe automatically addresses her.
Of course, these new powers will not be able to achieve progress in the field of fighting corruption on its own.
But in order to reach a satisfactory result, there must be institutional integration, that is, there are multiple responsibilities that must be activated in a strong and manner that guarantees gossip and integration, and we hope to reach the filling of all capabilities, whether in the public or private sector and civil society, so that we can unify the work of everyone.
We seek passing into a new era to combat corruption in which institutional integration is a fundamental issue.
Are the institutions concerned and the authorities, especially the judiciary, are hidden in cooperation with you?
Law 46.19 was prepared after an extensive and participating discussion between all powers, including the judiciary (Presidency of the Public Prosecution and the Supreme Council of the Judicial Authority).The final conclusions were compatible with it by everyone before referring them to Parliament, as it was approved unanimously after amendments to it by the women and the parliamentarians, and this will make the new legal framework enter implementation in a smooth manner.
Does the authority have financial and human resources that authorize it to carry out its new specializations?
This is among the challenges raised.We have worked to control matters that would contribute to the rapid download of the requirements of Law 46.19, whether reference texts or texts regulating the work of the research and investigation device.
There are contacts with institutions to attract a set of competencies that will form the nucleus of facing the challenges of the new stage.
In terms of material resources, I do not think we will face a problem, because the executive authority is making efforts to provide the necessary capabilities.In terms of human resources, we will try, as I mentioned in advance, to attract basic experiences, and we have training programs, whether internal or external, within the framework of the agreements that will allow us to form frameworks to accommodate the most advanced international experiences in the field of anti -corruption.