Why Corruption in Morocco Matters

By Juliet S. Sorensen

Last month I traveled to Morocco, serving as a faculty advisor to a group of Northwestern University graduate students researching issues related to law and business in that country. Morocco is on the move: the government has announced new incentives to foreign direct investment and ambitious plans to extend wireless communications to the furthest corners of the Sahara and the Atlas Mountains. On March 9, King Mohammed VI announced a committee to draft a new constitution that would cede roughly half the King's authority to an elected prime minister and would establish separation of powers, individual liberties, and gender equality. But the country’s growth is stymied by public corruption, and that, too, must be addressed by the kingdom, with the support of the United States.

A Culture of Corruption?

By any measure, Morocco is corrupt. The international anti-corruption organization Transparency International rates Morocco at 3.4 on scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (highly clean) in its 2010 Corruption Perception Index. That’s marginally better than its North African neighbors Algeria (2.9), Libya (2.2), and Egypt (3.1), though well short of Tunisia (4.3). A 2008 survey by Transparency Maroc, a local anti-corruption organization, reached a similar conclusion concerning bribes and grease payments in Morocco. According to that survey, 46% of Moroccan businesspeople questioned regularly paid bribes and grease or used personal contacts to facilitate or speed up administrative or customs procedures. Thirty-three percent of survey respondents used personal contacts to influence decisions on state contracts or public calls for tender.

The United States View . . . Courtesy of Wikileaks

The United States State Department cables published by Wikileaks reveal the unvarnished United States view of the current state of Moroccan corruption. As reported in The Guardian and discussed in numerous online news blogs about North Africa, one describes "the appalling greed" of advisors to the King. Another from the United States Embassy in Rabat reports that "corruption is prevalent at all levels of Moroccan society."

Moreover, at least from the perspective of the cables' authors, corruption has not decreased under the current government, despite its publicly proclaimed commitment to transparency and the rule of law. "While corrupt practices existed during the reign of King Hassan II . . . they have become much more institutionalized with King Mohammed VI," according to a Wikileaks cable. The same cable advises that corporate institutions such as Omnium Nord Africain, Morocco's largest conglomerate, regularly coerces developers into granting it beneficial rights. The owner of Omnium (which merged last year with yet another Moroccan holding company, Societe Nationale d’Investissement) is none other than the King, creating a conflict between his role as head of state and his position as a leading businessman within it.

A Shift Towards a Culture of Anti-Corruption?

Nonetheless, there are also hopeful signs that corruption is on the wane. Transparency Maroc is at the helm of a robust civil society that is involved in projects such as Africa Education Watch, which measures corruption in primary schools, and a study that tracks transparency and accountability across state and non-state institutions. In October 2011, Morocco will host the meeting of signatories to the United Nations Convention against Corruption. This significant event will provide the government a golden opportunity to show the international community that it, in fact, now takes corruption seriously. Other recent developments on the positive side of the corruption ledger include a government website that allows small businesses to report corruption, the drafting of a whistleblower protection law, and the promulgation of a code of judicial ethics currently being developed in consultation with the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative.

So Why Should We Care?

All of this may well be good for Morocco. But why should it matter to the United States?

First, it matters to our national security. High on the list of public grievances in Morocco and throughout the Middle East is corruption. As the first country to recognize the United States after its independence, Morocco has long been a friend to the United States in the Arab world; however, as events in Egypt have demonstrated, there is little tolerance in the region these days for friends who ignore demands for reform after years of patronage and greased palms. Stated simply, a Morocco that cultivates a culture of anti-corruption promises to be a longer-term ally to the United States.

Second, it matters to United States business interests. United States investment in Morocco continues to grow in light of the free trade agreement between the two countries, as well as Morocco’s wealth of phosphates, robust tourism, and new port in Tangier. A country dynamic that condones bribes in exchange for business, however, reflects scant appreciation for the rule of law and keeps United States companies away. For example, during 2009, two-way trade between the United States and Morocco was more than $2 billion. By contrast, two-way trade between the United States and Costa Rica, a country that also enjoys a free trade agreement with the United States but is less than one-seventh the size of Morocco in terms of population, was $10.3 billion. The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index rates Costa Rica at 5.3.

Finally, Morocco’s efforts to fight corruption matter because they are consistent with this country’s moral leadership. The stature of the United States is not increased when officials of a key Arab ally ignore their countries’ internal needs in favor of lining their own pockets. Partnering with Morocco in its efforts to combat corruption shows the Arab world that we are concerned not only with the defense of society and our historic allies but also with the kind of society and what types of allies we are defending.

One thing is clear – reduction of corruption in Morocco requires meaningful action, not just lip service, by its leaders. At this fateful time in the Middle East, the United States should take its cue from the ABA Rule of Law Initiative and lend a helping hand to a friend in need. In so doing, it will help itself.

Juliet S. Sorensen is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Law at Northwestern University, where her teaching and research interests include international criminal law and corruption. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco from 1995 – 1997.

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Juliet Sorensen

Juliet Sorensen