Rabat, Morocco(TMT)- On the sidelines of the growing fury witnessed in Morocco following the Moroccan authorities importing 2500 tons of deemed highly toxic garbage from Italy, garbage arguably carcinogenic, Mr. Mohamed Tariq Sbai, the head of the “Moroccan Commission for the Protection of Public Money” wrote an open letter to the highest authority in Morocco, his Majesty King Mohammed VI, urging him to probe Morocco’s currently most controversial case.
In his open letter, Sbai called on king Mohammed VI, as the the head of the Ministerial council and the guardian of the Moroccan constitution, to sack the Moroccan Minister of Environment Hakima Haite, and most importantly, “to return the imported garbage back to where it came from,” Italy.
“Sources from the Ministry of Environment revealed that the Delegate Minister for the Environment, Hakima Al Haite met on June 5, 2016 in a luxury hotel in Rome with mafia representatives and signed in full secrecy a deal to bring in to Morocco toxic waste, which includes carcinogenic plastic materials and rubber remnants of car wheels, over a period of 3 years for an amount exceeding 118 million euros,” Sbai wrote in his open letter to King Mohammed VI.
“The deal that was stricken in full secrecy by the Moroccan Minister of Environment is a form of corruption, one that threatens Morocco’s social stability and economic growth as it is an abuse of political power, in full contradiction with the United Nations’s Convention against Corruption,” Sbai added.
“Whatever justifications may be given, as a result of burning the imported garbage, the toxic gases that will spread to the surrounding areas will damage the water mattress and impair people living in the surrounding areas, making them vulnerable to life-threatening diseases.
“This is an attempt at genocide,” Sbai stressed.
“Various leading countries that enjoy a good reputation in managing waste around the world, such as Norway and Sweden, rejected to take the Italian garbage to preserve the health of their citizens and their environment,” Sbai added.
“The provisions of Chapter 47 of the Moroccan Constitution gives you [King Mohammed VI] the right to exempt the Minister of Environment from her duties,” Sbai further said.
“She betrayed her job, to protect Morocco’s environment and fight against pollution.
“She betrayed you [King Mohammed VI] and the Moroccan people.
“She betrayed the oath she made in front of you when she had sworn in to take this job.
“As the guardian of the Moroccan Constitution, which brings forth in Chapter 31 the right of Moroccan citizens to live in a healthy environment, we hope that you will take courageous decisions, including the necessary measures to probe the case and exhort the Minister of Environment from her duties.
“She did not only damage the image of Morocco by turning it into a trash dump, but she also wanted to cause DNA damage in Moroccans’ reproductive cells through the burning of toxic gases, including destroying the environment.
“As head of the Ministerial council, it falls within your prerogatives to return the imported garbage back to where it came from, especially that our country will host the upcoming COP22 event, one that will be held in Marrakech between 7 and 18 November 2016.
Sbai said in his open letter that his initiative, writing an open letter to King Mohammed VI, falls within the new “constitution calling for the participation of civil society in Morocco’s public policies, including making of it [civil society] an inescapable partner in the field of protecting the environment.
“Please do not betray the hopes of Moroccans [by not taking the necessary measures],” Sbai closed his letter.
The Moroccan Times.
