HIBAPRESS – Abdellatif Baraka
Despite the constitutional status of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council, and its supposed role in accompanying public policies through reports and advisory studies, the Council is experiencing a problematic situation that raises a wide debate about the extent of respect for the legal framework regulating its work.
Since 2011, the complete composition of its 105 members has not been renewed, which has produced a state of “status quo” within an institution that is supposed to reflect the social, economic, trade union and political transformations in the Kingdom. The Council is currently headed by Abdelkader Amara, who succeeded Ahmed Reda Chami, in the context of management that continues outside the requirements of the periodic renewal of the composition, which raises questions about representative legitimacy and the extent of the practice’s harmony with the spirit of the constitution. This abnormal situation has not gone without reactions, as trade union centers, parliamentary bodies and civil society activists have expressed their reservations, considering that the continuation of a composition that has not been renewed for more than a decade weakens the advisory function of the council and confuses its roles in contributing to legislation and advising the government. The debate also reached the point of challenging the representation of 24 members who were appointed based on the results of the 2009, 2015 and then 2021 elections, on the grounds that the logic of representation presupposes keeping pace with the dynamics of the trade union and political scene and its changing balances. Between the requirements of the constitution and the requirements of practice, the renewal of the Council’s composition remains an essential entry point to restore confidence in an institution that is supposed to be an accurate mirror of the social and economic transformations in Morocco.
