Morocco’s recently enacted Right to Information Law is a potentially powerful tool in the hands of its citizens, but their ability to use it is still largely dependent on the government’s commitment to transparency and political will to enforce it.
Published on the Carnegie website, 'Power to the people? The Right to Information law in Morocco' is jointly authored by Dr Sylvia Bergh of the International Institute of Social Studies and Dr Marwa Shalaby of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, considers the move by Morocco to ratify the Right to Information Law in February 2018 which made it an official member of the Open Government Partnership (OGP).
Whilst recognizing this as a step forward in terms of public access to information, asset declarations by public officials, fiscal transparency, and citizen participation, they also argue that bureaucratic culture, a lack of political transparency, the need to increase public awareness of the law, and diminishing public space are limiting its effectiveness.
Its application and enforcement largely relies on the government’s political will and commitment to genuine reforms.
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