On the occasion of the 18th anniversary of his accession to rule, His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco delivered a frank, clear, precise and remarkable speech. Although the media focus was on his criticism of the negative performance of the government, the King has given absolute priority to the people in his speech. He has spoken as a statesman responsible for the interests of his own people and without flattering anyone.
Warning, the speech called on the Moroccan political elite to prioritize the aspirations and demands of the Moroccan people and provide them with the convenient care, effort and work. The speech urged the political actors to assume their roles as a responsibility and not a privilege. His Majesty granted in his speech the option for those who failed to fulfil their responsibilities either to work hard and give priority to the people or move away from the public workplace.
Development and meeting the aspirations of people consume enormous time and energy. Political action in our Arab countries is no longer a waste of time and effort to gain prestige and well-being; continuing to work according to this old and worn-out perspective is no longer valid and is a risky venture.
The speech from the throne also redefined the concept of responsibility: What is responsibility if it is not responding to the concerns of citizens? The substance and significance of the speech were crystal clear to all officials; responsibility means listening to the citizenry and those who neglect it should be held accountable.
The development of the kingdom of Morocco requires such self-openness. The future that the King and the rest of the Moroccan people seek needs renewed energies and great efforts, and most importantly changing the mindset and concepts, especially with regard to the concept of responsibility and public workplace. There is a need to pay attention to Moroccan leadership’s quest to link responsibility to accountability. Countries seeking development and progress always link responsibility to accountability, which is a key perspective that maintains the interests of people and future generations; a future that awaits a more developed, advanced and prosperous Morocco.
The speech from the throne came as a roadmap for the future and a platform for all the officials in the Kingdom to abide by. The speech sets the record straight in all the files of the Moroccan public affairs. It has put a simple equation: either to work honestly or to resign. The speech has put emphasis on justice and equality, both in the development of the various regions and the individual rights of all citizens.
The speech was also characterized by national zeal and absolute bias for the interests of the Moroccan people. There was no room for courtesy and favouritism, but rather a diagnosis and a precise description of the reasons for what was happening in Al Hoceima. Some politicians did not manage their responsibilities and favoured self-calculation and partisan interests at the cost of the interests of the people, which contributed to the aggravation of the issue.
A leader is responsible for planning, being alert and leading wisely, effectively and responsibly. The speech was comprehensive and provided tremendous positive encouragement to those who are willing to work hard for the benefit of the Moroccan people. Everyone should recalculate, self-reflect and repair any mistakes in order to restore confidence in the entire system of the development work. Officials must prove their competence to regain the confidence of the leadership. His Majesty has put a question that if he was unsatisfied with the political practice and does not trust a number of politicians, what remains for the people?
A new opportunity granted by His Majesty to the negligent- individuals and institutions- to self-affirmation, to take back politics to its original spheres of service of citizens, and to restore their confidence in political appointees. Otherwise, the choice is clear to all: either carry out your responsibilities or withdraw, he said. As for those whom the King described as lazy, only questioning and accountability will await them.
The Moroccan people should be happy with his king’s wonderful level of openness that was implied in the words of His Majesty. He said that he was shocked by the unfinished achievements and projects. It is shameful to say that we are in Morocco today, added the king. These words reflect an exceptional level of sense of responsibility and national zeal, which is an outrage for the benefit of the Moroccan people and its current and future generations. The speech also reflects the gap between the situation caused by the failure of some officials and institutions to perform their duties and the ambitions and aspirations of the leadership. The speech came to put things right, emphasize the established conventions and restore the development initiative.
His Majesty acknowledged the weakness of the government administration as one of the reasons that hinder Morocco’s progress, mentioning the weak points of the government. The poorly-qualified staffs who are not sufficiently responsible in their work to revive the Moroccan institutional model as one of the developed systems, which remained dead letters because of the lack of executive performance, should be removed as said His Majesty the King in his speech.
The genius of this royal discourse lies not only in revealing the shortcomings and mistakes that have caused a crisis of confidence between citizens, institutions and government officials in many regions and cities in the Kingdom, but also in containing the initiative and the ability to correct and remedy these mistakes. This remedy would never take place without such openness of this historical discourse, which carries a lot of messages and indications.
This speech is brilliant because it expresses the severe anger Moroccan people have towards the government’s performance in many files and regions. If politicians worked and dealt with the serious speech of His Majesty King Mohammed VI that was delivered before the Parliament in mid-October 2016, it would have prevented such harsh blame in the recent royal speech. His Majesty stressed that all institutions must seek to serve the citizens; otherwise, they remain useless with no raison d’être. King Mohammed VI, on that occasion, considered that the management of citizens’ affairs and serving their interests is a national responsibility and a serious matter that does not tolerate complacency or delay. He added that with all due regret, some people use authority, which is granted to them by citizens to manage the public affairs, to serve their personal and partisan interests, at the cost of the public interest. They ignore the fact that the citizen is the most important in the elections, not the candidate or the party, as well as they deny the values of the noble political work. Politicians should not engage the political work since they do not care about the citizens’ interests, either nationally or regionally. King Mohammed VI also considered that the public administrations suffer from such problems as the poor performance and quality of services provided. He added that these administrations suffer from inflation, inefficiency, lack of responsibility among many employees, and that it endures mainly an old Moroccan mindset. These public administrations are considered, for many employees, as a hideout that guarantees them a monthly salary, without dealing with the output of their performance.
Almost a year has passed since that speech, nothing new has changed, and many institutions and politicians have not reflected on its content, which has led to the angered tone of the King.
The speech was a sharp critique that reflected the King’s patriotic interest in bringing true development to his people.
