Sidi Ifni, Morocco- Moroccan Minister of Vocational Training Abdeladim El Guerrouj, has been accused of using state funds to make a purchase of chocolate estimated at $4,000.
After the controversy caused by this accusation, the members of his party decided to stand up for him and rebuke what it described as “the fierce campaign launched to tarnish the reputation of the Minister.”
On Thursday, the party of the Popular Movement issued a communiqué in which it denied that the Minister made such a purchase.
The Minister was accused of paying a chocolate bill with state funds on October 10, 2013, while he was in charge of the Ministry of Public Service and the Modernization of Administration.
The Party explained that the investigation opened by the current Minister of Public Service has proven that state funds were not used to pay the chocolate bill.
For his part, the Minister resorted to court intervention following the information published by the daily Al Akhbar. According to El Guerrouj, this information, "lacks veracity."
The Minister reiterated that he was completely innocent. “The accusations are false; they have nothing to do with me whatsoever,” he said.
“We must not forget that any transaction of public administration goes through a number of procedures,” El Guerrouj explained. “My family paid the chocolate bill,“ he added.
Edited by Katrina Bushko
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