Morocco: Mohamed VI introduces partial amendments to Othmani’s government

Moroccan King Mohamed VI has introduced partial amendments to the government, whereby former Secretary of State Othman El-Ferdaous was appointed as minister of youth, sports and culture, to replace dismissed minister, Hassan Abyaba, in addition to appointing the minister of national education, Saaid Amzazi, as spokesman of the government.

According to the official news agency, the new appointments were announced during the reception of Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani at the Royal Palace in Casablanca

At a time when the partial government amendments, which ended with dismissing Abyaba, came as a surprise to the Moroccan public, especially in light of ongoing concerns over the state efforts in combating the spread of COVID-19, a government source commented on the partial government amendment by stating: “Some decisions might seem harsh, but prove to be necessary during peculiar circumstances.”

The source considered that the amendments came as: “A political decision that has been taken in a period that requires decisive and effective measures, especially as the government is engaged in combating the pandemic.”

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Sources from the government majority told The New Arab that the dismissal of Abyaba is closely related to his low performance on the level of communication with government bodies, especially during the ongoing campaign to confront the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and the accumulation of mistakes he made since heading the ministry.

The same sources indicated that Abyaba earlier committed several mistakes that led to embarrassing the Moroccan diplomatic delegation participating in the Ancient Cities Festival in Chinguetti, organised last November, after making the grave mistake of addressing the new Mauritanian president as “Sheikh Al-Azzouzi”, instead of “Sheikh Al-Ghazwani”.

The sources added that practical experience proved that several personalities who have been appointed in Othmani’s second government are “not as competent as required”, at a time when there is an urgent need for competent ministers to develop government action and achieve effectiveness.