Morocco’s Interior Ministry has instructed local authorities to avoid nonessential new financial commitments as they prepare their 2027 budgets, effectively tightening spending rules before next year’s communal and regional elections.
In a circular sent to regional walis and provincial governors, Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit told territorial councils to prioritize existing projects, essential public services and investments with a direct local impact while cleaning up outstanding financial obligations.
The instruction is particularly significant because the budgets will bridge an electoral transition. Councils are being asked to avoid commitments that could weigh on the finances inherited by their successors, while cutting operating costs including fuel, receptions, accommodation, catering, conferences and gifts.
The ministry is also pressing councils to collect more of their own revenue, including taxes on undeveloped urban land, housing and municipal services. The circular says 92 municipal collection offices have now been established and connected to the GIR-Cit information system.
Regions, meanwhile, enter 2027 with substantially stronger guaranteed financing. A reform of Morocco’s organic law on regions establishes annual state transfers of at least MAD 12 billion beginning next year. The measure is part of a broader overhaul intended to increase regional financial capacity and clarify their development responsibilities.
The circular also tightens rules around delegated public services. Waste-management contracts should generally use open tenders, while councils are encouraged to reduce energy and water costs in public lighting and green spaces.
Before signing new partnerships, councils must assess whether they can meet the resulting financial obligations. Walis and governors are also instructed to close inactive special accounts and redirect remaining funds toward priority investments.
The ministry is additionally expanding use of simplified “citizen budgets,” intended to show residents how local authorities raise and spend public money. Morocco already uses the format at national and regional levels as a transparency tool.
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