Morocco’s Interior Ministry has ordered the suspension and cancellation of several public contracts amid rising complaints from Moroccan firms alleging exclusion in favor of foreign competitors.
The decision comes after numerous local businesses reported being unfairly sidelined in tenders, despite meeting the requirements to deliver the projects, sources told Hespress Ar. The ministry’s directive primarily targets tenders in the Casablanca-Settat and Marrakech-Safi regions.
Inspection teams had already flagged irregularities in dozens of contract awards, questioning the transparency of procedures and the selection of beneficiaries. Investigators cited favoritism and opaque practices that fueled growing discontent among Moroccan contractors.
Some of the complaints, submitted to the Interior Ministry, the Court of Accounts, and the National Committee for Public Procurement, alleged that certain tender documents contained unrealistic conditions designed to benefit a handful of companies that have dominated local procurement for years.
Inspections uncovered cases of municipal officials tied to suspect contracts, some of whom had been dismissed by administrative courts or are currently facing charges in financial crimes courts for mismanagement.
The current investigations are focused on contracts related to drinking water supply, rural road construction, school renovations, and health center repairs. Many of the tenders included excessive technical requirements that only a small number of companies could meet, the same firms that repeatedly won the contracts.
The Interior Ministry’s crackdown follows the adoption of new public procurement reforms aimed at improving transparency and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises. The updated law reserves 20% of public contracts for SMEs and allows for large projects to be divided into smaller lots.
The law also mandates the disclosure of estimated contract values and prohibits conflicts of interest within tender committees and among bidders. Still, the recent wave of complaints and the ministry’s intervention suggest that implementation gaps remain.
Officials say further inspections and potential legal action may follow if systemic violations are uncovered.
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