Fouzi Lekjaa took aim at “sharing the spoils” and conflicts of interest within the outgoing government on Saturday, promising that PAM would “change the course of current government action” if given greater power after the September 23 elections.
Speaking before 17,000 people at a PAM rally in Dakhla, the Budget Minister also challenged the RNI over its proposal to raise the minimum wage to MAD5,000.
“From Dakhla, we say that we agree,” Lekjaa said.
He pointed out that the Labour Ministry is currently held by PAM and said the proposal could be put through as early as Thursday.
The message to the RNI was pointed: if the increase is feasible, Lekjaa argued, there is no reason to leave it as an election promise.
“Moroccans now know how to distinguish between sincere promises and electoral promises,” he said.
The remarks opened another front in the increasingly public rivalry between the two coalition partners ahead of the vote.
Fouzi Lekjaa à Dakhla.
Lekjaa also attacked conflicts of interest and what he described as the “sharing of spoils” under the outgoing government while presenting PAM as seeking a change in how government operates.
The Dakhla gathering drew 17,000 people, according to organizers, following earlier PAM meetings in Fez, Sefrou and Berkane.
Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, coordinator of PAM’s collective leadership, and Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid were also in Dakhla alongside Lekjaa and other party figures.
Beyond the attacks on the RNI, Lekjaa returned to PAM’s MAD350 billion program for the next five years.
Of that amount, MAD150 billion is earmarked for the budgetary component of the party’s first pact, the largest financial commitment in its program.
Lekjaa said the party wants to tackle purchasing power from both sides—raising household incomes while bringing down recurring expenses.
He also put Dakhla within PAM’s development plans, arguing that growth should reach all regions and that young people should become a source of “added value."
