Public Service Should be at Heart of Morocco’s Development Model- King says
King Mohammed VI of Morocco reaffirmed the need for putting the public service at the heart of Morocco’s new development model with a view to keeping up with the changes taking place domestically and internationally.
The call was made in a message to participants in the National Forum on the Senior Civil Service, which opened in Skhirate (Rabat outskirts) Tuesday under the theme “the restructuring of the senior civil service.”
“Just as I advocated a new development model to rise to current and future challenges, I am calling today for the concept of public service to be put at the heart of this model, through a thorough and profound reform of the civil service,” said the King in the message read out by his Adviser Abdelatif Mennouni.
While recognizing the achievements and the quality of human resources in Morocco’s civil service, the Monarch urged civil servants to perform more efficiently, to be in step with the changes the country is witnessing, to adjust to global developments and to contribute to efforts to rise to the development challenges facing our country.
The King stressed the need for upgrading the performances and competence of the civil service human resources, which he described as “a strategic choice that will unquestionably help lay the foundations for the development model to which we are aspiring, in addition to making the civil service an effective tool for the promotion of public policies in various sectors.”
He underscored the constitutional concept of “good governance” as “an indispensable ingredient” for the organization and management of the civil service since it involves the principles of merit, integrity, transparency and equal opportunity among all Moroccans.
In this respect, the Monarch called for the “promulgation of the civil service charter provided for in the Constitution to be speeded up and for that charter to be given a mandatory character,” adding that such a document will serve as a “key reference document for good governance.”
The King also made it clear that such an upgrade of the public service in terms of efficiency, productivity, competence and modernization, hinges on “a change in mentality and a break with shameful behavior and practices that are detrimental to government agencies and employees alike, such as bribery, corruption, abuse of power or neglect of one’s duties.”
“To achieve the above objectives, we must simplify civil service legislation and strictly apply the regulations governing administrative posts and public institutions, making sure those holding public office can be held to account, where necessary,” said the king.
