Morocco’s Audits Court, led by President Zineb El Adaoui, uncovered a significant waste of public resources amounting to 104 million dirhams between 2019 and 2023. These funds were spent on technical studies that did not result in tangible projects.
Investigations by regional audit chambers across Morocco exposed numerous irregularities in the management of 8,007 studies, valued at MAD 1.16 billion, which were intended to support infrastructure and development but often failed to lead to concrete outcomes.
The mobilization rate for projects following these studies varied widely across regions—some ranging from 54% to 92%, while others fell below 44%. The studies were primarily focused on roads and access ways (32%), urban rehabilitation and community infrastructure (22%), buildings (17%), and water supply projects (10.2%).
One key finding was the concentration of public contracts related to technical studies. Only 7% of the consulting firms received 34% of the contracts by volume and 33% by value.
This concentration was even more striking in the case of purchase orders, where just 2% of the firms received 24% of the orders, both in volume and value. The report also highlighted issues such as the lack of precise project definitions, rough cost estimations, and a failure to thoroughly vet consulting firms.
Additionally, the report pointed to significant delays in executing projects and a lack of proper follow-up on deliverables. Many technical reports were not adequately verified to ensure they met the specifications of the contracts, and some contracted firms did not oversee or monitor the works that stemmed from their studies.