Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi: Our cabinet will be the best due to its harmony, vision and leadership For a better management of my various responsibilities, I’ve delegated my competencies to my deputies
Minister of Justice Mr. Abdellatif Ouahbi, informed during his invitation on the radio program “Without stale language” broadcast live by Med-Radio last Friday evening, December 17, 2021, that management is a heavy responsibility and it is run slowly, and that there are many challenges as he desires to achieve many things and strive to leave behind his own fingerprints either at the level of his mission he is assuming or for the majority of Moroccans.
Minister Ouahbi added that the “riskiest” thing in the Ministry of Justice is “legislation” since it is the one which prepares and manages laws that concern citizens’ lives and rules which adjudicate them; all this is linked with the citizen relationship with the law. The Ministry remains the source in its position as a legislator, and the Ministry is assigned to allow Moroccans to enjoy their rights in litigation.
The Minister has considered that among the difficulties which characterize his current responsibility is that it’s very hard to be at the head of a ministry while I have spent my professional experience in the private sector as a lawyer. Through the process of moving from that sector to the public sector, I’ve worked on reducing many laws and rules even at the level of managing ministerial affairs, yet this move cannot be occurred overnight on the ground that the administration is an accumulation that extends to many long years, and therefore one cannot change the judicial administration only through legislation and also through digitalization which does represent the biggest challenge to the Justice Ministry”.
About assuming many responsibilities, between the PAM Secretary General, supervising over the Ministry of Justice and over the communal council in Taroudant, Minister Ouahbi said he is known for “delegating” competencies as it is the case for Mr. Samir Koudar and Mrs. Fatima Saadi, they both hold the task of deputies to the secretary general and so they are responsible for the party management. As for the Ministry of Justice, Mr. Ouahbi has delegated his Ministerial delegation and has asked senior directors to assume their missions; regarding counselors they play their role of counseling on legislation issues; those senior directors are carrying out their missions since they represent the state continuity.
“At the level of Taroudant communal council presidency, Mr. Ouahbi has delegated his competencies to 6 of his deputies and tasks are done collectively among all the components of the council (despite difference of political spectrum) and I will be working soon on enlarging the scope of delegating to include other members in managing the council affairs”.
My own concern has always been to work from my position as Secretary General to help bring the party back to its value and status; however the party politburo has preferred along with the National council that the secretary general should lead the PAM inside the current cabinet.
On two occasions, the PAM did not join the government in 2011 and 2016.. but when we joined the government in 2021, we have won the second rank and so we have not excluded any political party or denied its right in joining the government.
About the relationship with the government President Mr. Aziz Akhannouch, Mr. Ouahbi stated “the conflict was normal with the RNI party, natural and normal conflict that enters in the context of electoral campaigns gains and when I was offered a ministerial portfolio, I have expressed my differences with Mr. Akhannouch in a meeting of the party politburo and even at the national council session, but later on, Mr. Akhannouch has confirmed to me that what occurred in the past is over and the moment needs cooperation and common action”.
Over the days by working together in the government, I’ve discovered that Mr. Akhannouch is a man who conveniently listens and discusses matters and he does not interfere in my competencies as a Minister of Justice and always expresses his readiness to cooperate in any matter that concerns the Justice Ministry and let me be honest to testify that “I have found in him a man who reacts practically and positively, and work brings us together more that talk about limited friendship.. The most important is that Mr. Aziz Akhannouch has a big capability in managing the cabinet team, does not talk a lot but works hard.”
All in all, continued Ouahbi, “the Government President behaves with the reason of a responsible man and this is a positive point which makes me work with more satisfaction and my holding a ministerial portfolio is not for settling accounts with any side and not for continuing in the conflict with Mr. Akhannouch, but I have assumed this responsibility for the sake of fulfilling a task that I should do inside the Justice Ministry; by the way, let me underline here that three months after the beginning of our work together inside the government, Mr. Akhannouch has not raised any debate about former conflict.
The characteristics of the current government is that the majority of its cabinet members have integrated government management for the first time in their political-party experiences; we are working right now on a number of rules especially those concerning social protection on the principle of continuity and this issue badly needs communication with the media due its priority since it is a big and major important social issue on which the government is working hard, responsibly and seriously.
In conclusion, Mr. Ouahbi has emphasized from his position as Minister of Justice that the current cabinet will be better that its predecessor, for many reasons among them is the fact that there is a harmony, a vision and there is actually a leadership, adding “There is a great job that is being achieved at the level of all ministerial sectors and I am satisfied with that”.