MOROCCO'S NEW ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION STARTS TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 000887

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/MAG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2018
TAGS: PGOV ECON KCOR MO
SUBJECT: MOROCCO'S NEW ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION STARTS TO
TAKE SHAPE

Classified By: Economic Counselor Stuart Smith, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
.


1. (C) Summary: Morocco's long-promised Central Commission to
Combat Corruption is finally starting to take shape following
King Mohammed VI's August 21st appointment of local
Transparency International co-founder Abdesselam Aboudrar to
head the entity. Aboudrar told us in a September 10 meeting
that he shares the NGO community's concerns about the
commission's lack of independence and purely "preventive"
role, but intends to use the U.N. anti-corruption convention
as his guide and seek to advance a "national system of
integrity." Corruption has increased under the present
king's reign, he said, due to openness and a drop in the
"fear factor." As a result of the increasing scope of the
problem, he judged that there is the "political willingness"
both in government and civil society to tack le it. The
commission, he predicted, will be up and running by the end
of the year. Aboudrar has appointed a deputy and is now
seeking additional staff and office space. He looked forward
to cooperation with the USG, and expressed interest in
USAID's ongoing work to assess the state of corruption in
Morocco. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Econ Counselor and USAID Deputy Director met on
September 10 with Abdessalem Aboudrar, the newly-designated
head of Morocco's Central Commission to Combat Corruption.
The Commission, which is formally attached to the Prime
Minister's office, is intended to serve as a central
coordinating entity on anti-corruption policy. It will have
responsibility for collecting and disseminating information
relating to corruption, sensitizing the public, and
monitoring progress in implementing the recently ratified UN
Convention against corruption. Abdourar explained the
commission's complicated organizational structure, which
includes a plenary assembly, an executive commission, and a
secretariat. The assembly, he said, will include
representatives of all concerned government entities, as well
as of civil society and non-governmental organizations. It
will meet twice a year to review developments and approve
commission reports and recommendations. An executive
commission, which Aboudrar will also head, will include key
stakeholders and meet more regularly. Finally, the
secretariat will provide staff support for the other
entities. Aboudrar indicated he was given a free hand in
selecting his staff, and has asked Rabha Zeidguy, the
Director of the Modernization of the Bureaucracy at the
Ministry for the Modernization of the Public Sector, to serve
as the commission's secretary-general.


3. (U) The complicated structure and limited mandate has been
questioned by Morocco's leading anti-corruption
non-governmental organization, Transparency Maroc (TM),as
well as a number of members of Parliament. TM's President,
Rachid Filali Meknassi, noted in a recent press interview
that the organization's reservations about the commission
stemmed largely from the fact that it is a "consultative
organ" rather than an investigatory one: "It can become
either a center for intelligence on the subject of
corruption, or an alibi to say that one is doing something
about the problem," he said. He added, however, that
Aboudrar, another of TM's co-founders, has precisely the
"profile" needed to tackle the issue, and was thus an
excellent choice. The broader questions about the commission
are shared in Parliament, where Habib Choubani, President of
the Justice Commission, this week convoked the Minister for
the Modernization of the Public Sector, Mohammed Abou, to
discuss the problem of corruption in the state bureaucracy,
as well as the process by which the Corruption Commission has
been instituted.


4. (C) Aboudrar, who is himself a founding member of
Transparency Maroc, as well as head of the Moroccan
Confederation of Enterprises' anti-corruption committee, told
us he shares these concerns about the Commission's mandate
and independence. "I would have preferred a more independent
structure," he said, as well as a role that extended beyond
prevention of corruption to its "repression." He argued,
however, that the fact that "it is not clear what we can do"
will give the entity the ability to push the envelope and
engage in greater activism as it fills its mandate of
advising the government on corruption issues.



5. (C) Aboudrar noted that civil society is fully committed
to the anti-corruption effort, and that there is a "political
willingness to engage on the issue." He attributed the year
and a half delay in setting up the Instance to the transition
between the Jettou and El Fassi governments. Jettou, he
opined, was ready to act, but preferred to leave the
nomination to the succeeding government, to avoid the
impression that it was the initiative of a lame duck
administration. He speculated, however, that the delay also
resulted from the continuing "reticence of the executive in
Morocco to surrender its prerogatives," a reflection of the
fact that the country is not a "full democracy" in any sense.


6. (C) Abdoudrar stressed that a re-moralization of public
life in Morocco is essential. The government has an
ambitious plan, he noted, but the commission will not simply
be its spokesperson as it seeks to implement it. "I am more
ambitious than that," he said, and "will use the UN
convention as a guide." He argued Morocco is in urgent need
of a "national system of integrity," to instill a new sense
of civic responsibility. He noted that he had pressed for
and received a six-year mandate for his work, which will
render him independent of any legislative calendar, and of
the mandate of the PM who appointed him. He is currently
pressing for funding in the 2009 budget, and hopes to have
his office be operational by the beginning of 2009.


7. (C) Ironically, Aboudrar, who as a youthful leftist
activist was imprisoned for six years under Hassan II, judged
that corruption has worsened in Morocco under Mohammed VI.
An effort during the "Alternance" period at the end of Hassan
II's reign, under socialist Prime Minister Youssoufi to
tackle the problem was not followed up, and the more open
atmosphere of the new reign led to a "recrudescence" of
corruption. There is "no fear and no perception of risk," he
suggested, as a result of the lack of enforcement. The
resulting expansion of corruption, he said, is evident in the
declining rankings Morocco has received on international
rankings on corruption issues. He argued Morocco now needs a
"pris de conscience" to come to grips with the problem. It
has happened in some Ministries and areas, he judged, but
fitfully, and with a lack of follow through. On learning
that USAID has carried out its own work on corruption in
Morocco, Aboudrar expressed great interest in USAID's ongoing
assessment of the problem, and subsequent to the meeting
phoned to request a copy of the report prepared by USAID's
contractor on the subject.


8. (C) In our meeting, Aboudrar stressed that he did not
assume the position in order to serve as "window dressing,"
but because he believes he can make a difference.
Subsequently, in his first press interview in the weekly
"Telquel," he stressed his readiness to tackle all the key
state institutions that are afflicted with the problem,
including the army, while also highlighting his vision of how
Moroccans should address the problem of petty corruption. He
noted that he has "frequently paid the 400 MAD (50 USD) fine"
for traffic violations, "and always offers to pay by check,
even when this is rebuffed." His refusal to "grease the
hand" in such instances is categoric, he explained, "since I
find it humiliating to corrupt someone."


9. (C) Comment: Aboudrar is a thoughtful and perceptive
observer of the Moroccan scene, whose earlier success in
convincing the CGEM to address the corruption issue over the
objections of a range of senior business leaders hints that
he has the skill set to navigate the challenges of his new
position. Aboudrar's estimation that corruption has
increased is troubling, but his evident intention to fully
utilize the "bully pulpit" his position offers is
encouraging. As the commission stands up, there may be
opportunities to assist its efforts in tackling this critical
issue. End Comment.


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Riley