RABAT, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- An official investigation committee has revealed that many development projects in Morocco's northeastern city of Al Hoceima witnessed "delay or failure."
A report by the committee was handed to King Mohammed VI by the Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit and the Minister of Economy and Finance Mohamed Boussaid at Rabat royal palace, the king's office said in a statement.
In 2015, Morocco launched Lighthouse of the Mediterranean, a large-scale development program in the northeastern province of Al Hoceima, but many of its projects have been marred by delays.
Disappointed by the suspected delays, King Mohammed VI ordered in late June the cancelling of the vacations for the ministers concerned with the implementation of the development program, and set up an investigation committee to hold related officials responsible for the delays.
The investigations have concluded that there are delays in some projects and failure to implement others, while excluding any act of embezzlement or fraud, the statement pointed out.
The situation in Al Hoceima has been tense since October 2016, when fish vendor Mouhcine Fikri was crushed to death after climbing into a rubbish lorry to retrieve his swordfish confiscated by police.
The demand for justice for Fikri in the northeastern region has evolved into a major grassroots movement to protest the delay in the implementation of scheduled projects, requesting greater government investment to create more jobs.
Currently returning to calm, Morocco has not witnessed any protests of this size since the pro-democracy demonstrations during the Arab spring in 2011.
