Fouzi Lekjaa has rejected attempts to hold him responsible for the livestock import controversy, asking whether critics believed his role went as far as importing the sheep himself.
“Do you mean that I was involved to the point of importing the sheep myself?” the Budget Minister said at a PAM meeting in Berkane on Thursday.
His answer was that providing the money and spending it are two different responsibilities.
Lekjaa said the budget ministry makes funds available, while decisions on how programs are carried out rest with the government departments concerned.
He made the remarks before more than 3,000 people at the Berkane meeting, which brought together PAM leaders, ministers and party members from across the Oriental.
Lekjaa used two projects in Berkane to make the same point.
The city’s cultural complex and provincial hospital, he said, remained stalled for years despite having the necessary funding.
People struggle to understand why a project can have money allocated to it in the budget but still fail to materialize, he said.
Lekjaa said the next government would have to address the reasons projects remain blocked after funding has been secured and ensure that budget allocations translate into work on the ground.
He also addressed the criticism that has followed his decision to join PAM. Lekjaa joined the party in July and is now a member of its Political Bureau.
“Why does a citizen’s political engagement worry some people?” he asked, saying some of those who had previously praised him began criticizing him after he joined the party.
Much of Thursday’s meeting was also devoted to the Oriental, where Lekjaa said major investment had yet to produce results matching the region’s potential.
He singled out Nador West Med among the projects that could change the region’s economic position and called for more investment capable of creating jobs for young people.
Tourism along the Mediterranean coast also needed greater investment, he said, while development plans should take account of the different needs of provinces across the region.
Fouzi Lekjaa en meeting partisan à Berkane devant plus de 3.000 personnes.
Lekjaa also returned to PAM’s program for the September 23 elections.
He said delivering its commitments would require close to MAD 70 billion in additional funding a year.
The program covers investment and growth as well as the cost of living, purchasing power, healthcare and education.
Lekjaa said the commitments should amount to a “contract” between PAM and voters, with the party required to show how its promises would be funded and implemented.
