Fez: 70M dirhams in taxes wiped out, audit demanded
An opposition councilor resigns after revealing a 70‑million‑dirham tax exemption granted to a majority ally. Two other councilors file a formal appeal to the regional governor demanding an audit of a thousand temporary contracts suspected of nepotism.
Fès: 70 million dirhams in taxes written off, audit demanded
An opposition councillor walked out of a full municipal council meeting, brandishing documents. According to the papers presented, the mayor signed a certificate granting total exemption from 70 million dirhams of Tax on Undeveloped Land to an influential majority councillor. The resigning councillor denounces a deal negotiated at the top of the town hall.
The affair moved onto the institutional stage the very next day. Two councillors, from the Jnane El Ouard and Zouagha districts, lodged an official appeal with the wilaya of the Fès-Meknès region. The correspondence demands an audit of around a thousand contracts for casual workers, pointing to a system where relatives of elected officials and local dignitaries allegedly draw salaries from budgets earmarked for road workers.
The plaintiffs are calling for a comprehensive audit and the outright repayment of any funds improperly paid out. For his part, the mayor stands by the size of the workforce: the municipality pays around 1,050 temporary staff assigned to green spaces, public lighting, road maintenance and district services. He acknowledges only five cases of kinship with elected officials among that total and speaks of legal proceedings over a leak of personal data.
The file now leaves the municipal chamber to land on the desk of the wali and the State inspectorates. The contesting councillors have thus transferred the debate under the direct authority of the Ministry of the Interior to arbitrate the reported budgetary irregularities.
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