The administrative control of regional finances in Morocco within the framework of advanced regionalization

Abstract

The principle of the free administration of the regions in Morocco implies that they have the freedom to act in managing their resources and expenses ; it is considered to be one of the main pillars of territorial management in Morocco.

The legislator has given the regions the freedom to fully exercise their powers by making the presidents of the regional councils responsible for authorising and executing financial decisions.

The legislator has also given regional governors the task of ensuring - on behalf of the government - the application of laws and the implementation of regulations and government decisions, as well as exercising administrative control over the deliberations of regional councils and the decisions of their presidents.

This administrative control is exercised by two actors representing the interior and finance departments. These are the « Wali », who is responsible for controlling the legality of regional acts, and the public accountant, who is responsible for budgetary and financial control.

We will attempt to focus on the legal and constitutional framework for regional finances’s administrative control in Morocco, adopting as our research methodology a legal analysis of the texts and laws governing the subject.

The analysis of the administrative Moroccan regions' finances control has enabled us to observe that the Moroccan legislator has succeeded - in a way - in consolidating the balance between free management of the regions' financial affairs, and financial governance based on an efficient system of control.