MPs who spoke to Hespress AR blamed internal politics for the prolonged deadlock in the parliamentary committee tasked with evaluating the Green Morocco Plan, amid allegations of obstruction and political maneuvering.
They revealed that disputes within the Istiqlal Party, particularly over leadership ambitions, have stalled the group’s activities for nearly three years.
The committee, initially convened in March 2022 and chaired by House Speaker Rachid Talbi El Alami, has not met since June 2022, fueling accusations of deliberate delays.
According to sources, a powerful Istiqlal Party leader’s insistence on chairing the group, succeeding Noureddine Moudian—who lost his parliamentary seat due to violations of Covid-19 regulations and improper campaign practices—has contributed significantly to the deadlock.
Despite warnings from party members about an imminent dismissal from his local council role, the leader maintained his ambitions, causing divisions within the party and hindering the committee’s progress.
The PJD accused “hidden forces” of engineering the delays to avoid scrutiny of the Green Morocco Plan, which has faced criticism for exacerbating water resource depletion through privatization efforts.
They claimed the political stalemate was a tactic to deflect accountability for the plan’s environmental impact.
PJD parliamentary group head Abdallah Bouanou highlighted the need for transparency, especially amid Morocco’s growing water scarcity crisis, and called for a thorough investigation into the plan’s environmental and economic consequences.
The Green Morocco Plan, launched in 2008, aimed to modernize agriculture but has been criticized for its environmental sustainability, particularly its impact on groundwater resources.
A 2024 report by the Royal Institute for Strategic Studies linked the plan’s emphasis on private drip irrigation to continued groundwater over-extraction, worsening water scarcity.
The internal conflict within the Istiqlal Party has also been linked to House Speaker El Alami’s decision to delay the committee’s resumption.
Sources claimed that the ongoing leadership dispute provided an excuse to postpone the group’s activities, further complicating the parliamentary review process.
The committee is now set to resume in the upcoming legislative session, but opposition parties remain skeptical about its effectiveness, given the political tensions and accusations of obstruction.
Mohamed Chaouki of the National Rally of Independents dismissed claims of deliberate obstruction, attributing the delays to Moudian’s parliamentary seat loss. He defended the Green Morocco Plan’s overall impact, arguing that it positively influenced small farmers and the economy.
Chaouki also refuted allegations of improper public investment, describing them as misleading or false.
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