Local public procurement: the Achilles' heel of Financial governance in Morocco?

Abstract

This article examines the critical relationship between the management of public procurement within Moroccan territorial collectivities and the quality of their financial governance. It starts from the observation that deficiencies in public procurement—characterized by procedural irregularities, a lack of transparency, weak competition, and poorly adapted contracts—pose a serious threat to the efficiency of local finances and the implementation of territorial public policies.

The central objective is to assess the extent to which recurrent failures in local public procurement in Morocco undermine the principles of sound financial governance, and what their consequences are on economic performance, budgetary credibility, and territorial development.

Through an analysis of the mechanisms by which deficient procurement processes affect the pillars of financial governance: budgetary discipline, optimal resource allocation, transparency, and control.

The methodology combines an analysis of the current legal and institutional framework for public procurement with a revealing case study. The identified deficiencies include non-compliance with procedures, splitting of contracts, opacity in award processes, cost overruns and delays, as well as weak accountability.