The regional director of Al Omrane, Morocco’s state urban development agency, in the Marrakech-Safi region has been removed from his post, according to sources familiar with the matter. The move came just as he returned from annual leave, and was reportedly decided by the agency’s board of directors.
The dismissal follows months of mounting internal reports flagging mismanagement in several major projects overseen by the regional branch. Chief among them is the renovation of Jemaa el-Fna, the UNESCO-listed square that sits at the heart of Marrakech’s identity and tourism economy.
Al Omrane served as delegated project owner for the square’s rehabilitation. The works are said to have cost upward of 16 billion centimes, roughly 160 million dirhams, yet fell short of their stated goals. Much of the criticism has zeroed in on the quality of the new paving and ground-level finishing, which observers describe as unworthy of one of the most photographed public spaces in North Africa.
The gap between the price tag and the outcome has not gone unnoticed. Journalists, civil society figures, local elected officials and ordinary Marrakchis have all voiced frustration over what they see as public money poorly spent on a site central to the kingdom’s tourism branding.
Neither Al Omrane nor the relevant ministry has issued an official statement naming the outgoing director or detailing the exact grounds for his removal. No formal investigation has been announced publicly, and the account circulating so far rests on sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Still, the episode reignites a familiar debate over accountability at Morocco’s public urban-development agencies, at a moment when the kingdom is pouring resources into tourism infrastructure ahead of major international deadlines, including the 2030 World Cup it will co-host. Transparency in how public funds are spent, and genuine accountability when projects go wrong, remain high on the list of demands Moroccan citizens direct at institutions entrusted with the country’s heritage sites.
Whether this administrative shake-up will be followed by a fuller explanation of what went wrong, or whether it signals a broader audit of Al Omrane’s projects across the Marrakech-Safi region, remains to be seen. For now, the square that draws millions of visitors each year remains at the center of an uncomfortable conversation about cost, quality and oversight.
