Kiosk360. Members of a parliamentary mission were denied access to municipal slaughterhouses by security guards. The mayor of Casablanca specifies that the program of this mission provided only for a visit to the wholesale market. This article is a press review of the daily Al Akhbar.
The members of a parliamentary mission were prohibited last Wednesday from accessing the slaughterhouses of Casablanca by private security agents and “bouncers” called in for reinforcement by the management. The daily Al Akhbar reports, in its edition of Tuesday, September 20, that the said mission had scheduled visits to the wholesale fruit and vegetable market as well as to the municipal slaughterhouses.
The office of the Chamber of Representatives had informed the Minister of the Interior by correspondence of the date of these visits, so that he could give his instructions to the local authorities and the City Council to guarantee their smooth running.
According to some sources, the private security agents told the parliamentarians that they had not received any instructions to authorize them to visit the slaughterhouses, while advising them that the director of this establishment was on leave. The parliamentarians tried to contact the mayor of Casablanca, Nabila Rmili, but her phone was switched off.
Contacted by Al Akhbar the President of the City Council affirmed that she was not aware of these facts and that she was not informed by the House of Representatives of this visit by the parliamentarians.
According to the daily Al Akhbar Rmili however clarified that the program of this mission provided only for a visit to the wholesale market. However, one of its members indicated that a visit to the municipal slaughterhouses was on the program, addressed to the wali of the region via the Minister of the Interior.
As a reminder, the Court of Auditors had noted dysfunctions in the management of municipal slaughterhouses in Casablanca. These include, among other things, the lack of hygiene conditions and non-compliance with the specifications binding the City Council and the company in charge of the delegated management of the slaughterhouses. The magistrates of the Court had also pointed out that the meat cutting room was operated by another company in the absence of any contractual relationship with the City Council.
It should be noted that the Bureau of the Chamber of Representatives had previously given its agreement, at the request of the Chairman of the Social Sectors Committee, to set up an information mission, responsible for inquiring about the distribution and marketing networks of agricultural products.