City of Rabat flushes out its puppet civil servants
The management of human resources of the municipality of Rabat is being scrutinized by experts from the Regional Court of Auditors (CRC). A team of Court experts have been appointed to carry out an audit mission covering various aspects related to the municipality’s HR management.
To carry out this work, the municipality was asked to provide the CRC experts with a certain number of documents. These include the organization chart of the town hall, staff attendance register, recruitment files, officials made available, as well as the minutes and decisions of the disciplinary commissions. This mission is part of an audit program carried out by the teams of the Regional Courts of Auditors within several municipalities of the country covering various fields including that of human resources, specifies a source from the municipality of Rabat, while some elected representatives of the opposition argue that this mission targets the issue of ghost civil servants which has not ceased to arouse debate and questions since the arrival of mayor Asmaa Rhlalou, of the RNI party, at the head of the town hall of the capital city. Those developments follow her revelations about the dysfunctions tainting the management of human resources, which raises questions about the responsibility of the outgoing council led by the PJD party. In this regard, Asmaa Rhlalou raised the problem of ghost civil servants at the municipal level, the number of which is around 2,400 people, a figure which has sparked protest from certain employees’ unions and also from several elected officials, in particular those of the opposition. The latter demanded more details on this case by requesting the publication of the list of officials incriminated as well as the disciplinary measures taken by the municipality. During the October 2022 council meeting, Rhlalou announced the first measures taken with regard to this situation. The measures taken have consisted particularly in the removal of four civil servants who are abroad, one resignation, and the presentation of several requests for early retirement, as well as the passage of five civil servants in front of a disciplinary council and the provisional suspension of salaries of eight other employees. Requests for explanation were addressed to 498 civil servants about their absence, it was said. For the elected representatives of the opposition, these measures remain insufficient and below the reform ambitions put forward by the new majority. For those elected officials, the results of the inspection mission carried out by the Regional Court of Auditors will be of great use to further clarify the issue of HR management at the level of the municipality of Rabat.
Noureddine EL AISSI
