Morocco Country Profile

Licences, Infrastructure and Public Utilities

Individual Corruption

Certification of administrative documents usually involves contact with several civil servants, increasing the calculated risk of encountering corruption and the possibility of having to pay bribes.

Business Corruption

Dealing with licences in Morocco is cumbersome and time consuming. However, the process of starting a company is still relatively easy in Morocco. Figures from the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2009-2010 indicate that Morocco has a substantial competitive advantage in the region with regards to the time and number of procedures required to start a company.

On the other hand, observers note that permits are slow to be issued and that obtaining local government permits often requires the payment of bribes. Moreover, according to Global Integrity 2008, the issuing of a number of licences and permits is subject to preferential treatment and possibly also bribes. These include the right to have a taxi in the urban and inter-urban areas, transportation amenities, offshore and fishing rights, alcohol licences, and the use of natural sand among others. According to the Transparency International Global Corruption Report 2009, due to extensive bureaucracy surrounding the building and construction sector, the procedure for obtaining a building permit is so long that project managers often resort to corrupt practices in order to speed up the process.

Frequency

The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2010:
- 6 procedures are required to start a company, taking an average of 12 days and costing 11.8% of the income per capita.

- To construct a warehouse, a company is required to go through 19 procedures, taking 163 days and costing 264% of the income per capita.

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2009-2010:
- Business executives give government regulations (permits, regulations, reporting) in Morocco a score of 3.4 on a 7-point scale (1 being 'extremely burdensome' and 7 'not burdensome at all').

Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2009:
- 33% of households who had contact with registry and permit services in 2008 report to have paid a bribe.

- 3% of households who had to obtain utilities in 2008 report to have paid a bribe.

- 28% of households who had contact with medical services in 2008 report to have paid a bribe.

Transparency International: Bribe Payers Index 2008:
- Business executives give the level of corruption in the registry and permit services a score of 3.1 on a 5 point scale (1 being 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt').

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2007:
- Of the companies surveyed none expect to give gifts in order to get an operating licence while the number is 20% for getting an import licence and 15.3% for getting a construction permit.

- Only 9.3% of the companies surveyed perceive business licensing and permits as major constraints to doing business in Morocco.

- The percentage of companies that expect to give gifts to obtain utilities connections is quiet low compared to regional standards, as 4% expect to give gifts to obtain a phone connection while the numbers for obtaining an electricity connection and a water connection are 5% and 4.2% respectively.