Casablanca – Morocco is facing renewed questions over how public funds allocated to support household purchasing power have been used after the government disclosed spending equivalent to about $28.9 billion over the past five years.

The figure was highlighted by Fouzi Lekjaa, Minister Delegate in charge of the Budget, who said the state had mobilized the amount through measures intended to ease financial pressure on households. His remarks have since prompted calls for greater detail on the composition of the spending, the programs concerned and the results achieved.

Transparency Morocco, the Moroccan Association for Combating Corruption, has asked the government to provide a detailed account of the funds. The organization sent a letter to Lekjaa on September 17 requesting information on the amounts actually spent, the sectors and programs that received the money, the beneficiaries and the mechanisms used to monitor the impact of the measures.

The association’s request focuses on the difference between allocating public resources and demonstrating their effectiveness. It is seeking information that would make it possible to determine how the $28.9 billion was distributed and how each category of spending was expected to affect household purchasing power.

The amount does not appear to correspond to a single government program. Instead, it covers several measures introduced during the five-year period. These have included various forms of support intended to limit the impact of higher prices, direct assistance and measures affecting household incomes and the cost of essential goods.

Because the spending combines different measures, assessing the total amount requires a breakdown by program, sector and year. Such information would also make it possible to distinguish between funds that were announced or allocated and amounts that were actually disbursed.

Transparency Morocco has specifically asked for clarification on the exact value of the funds that were spent and how they were divided among different sectors and programs. It has also requested information about the groups and institutions that benefited from the measures.

Another issue concerns the monitoring of prices. The organization wants to know whether the government has mechanisms capable of tracking the effect of public spending on the prices of subsidized products and determining whether the benefits ultimately reached consumers.

This question is particularly relevant when public funds are used to support prices. A financial allocation can reduce the cost of a product at one stage of the supply chain without necessarily producing the same reduction for consumers. Monitoring the transmission of support through the supply chain is therefore important when assessing the results of such measures.

Transparency Morocco has also raised questions about the conditions attached to government support. It wants clarification on whether beneficiaries were required to meet specific commitments, including commitments concerning selling prices, and whether public authorities could recover funds when those conditions were not respected.

The discussion comes as Morocco continues to deal with the effects of changes in food and non-food prices. Official consumer price data have shown a moderation in inflationary pressure during several months of 2026, although price movements have varied from one period to another.

Consumer prices declined by 1% in July compared with the previous month, according to official data. Food prices fell by 1.9%, while non-food prices decreased by 0.3%. The figures followed monthly increases earlier in the year and subsequent declines during May and June.

The evolution of consumer prices provides an important measure of inflation, but it does not by itself establish the impact of individual government support measures. Consumer price statistics are based on a national basket of goods and services, while the financial pressure experienced by households can vary according to income, employment, location and spending patterns.

For this reason, measuring the effectiveness of the $28.9 billion requires more than comparing the total spending with changes in inflation. It would require examining the specific objectives of each program and determining whether the intended beneficiaries received the expected support.

The nature of the spending is another important factor. Some government measures may have been designed to limit price increases, while others may have sought to increase household incomes or provide direct financial assistance. These different approaches cannot necessarily be assessed using the same indicators.

A detailed breakdown could therefore provide a clearer picture of how public resources were used. It could show the amount allocated to each measure, the number of beneficiaries, the duration of the support and the measurable effect on prices or household income.

The debate also raises questions about public financial monitoring. Large-scale support programs require mechanisms capable of following spending from allocation to implementation and assessing whether the intended objectives have been achieved. Transparency Morocco’s request specifically calls for information on these monitoring and evaluation systems.

The organization has also asked whether the government can determine the extent to which support measures were reflected in consumer prices. Such information would help establish whether public spending translated into direct benefits for households or was absorbed elsewhere in the supply chain.

The $28.9 billion figure should therefore be considered in the context of several years of economic and social measures rather than as a single expenditure. Different programs were introduced under different economic conditions and may have addressed different forms of pressure on households.

A full assessment would require identifying each measure and examining its financial cost and results separately. It would also require distinguishing between budgeted amounts, actual disbursements and any funds subsequently recovered or redirected.

The questions raised by Transparency Morocco have placed the management of purchasing-power support under closer public scrutiny. The organization is seeking greater clarity over where the money went, who benefited and how its impact was assessed.

For the government, providing a detailed accounting of the $28.9 billion would offer a clearer basis for evaluating the measures implemented over the past five years. For the public, such information would make it easier to understand how large-scale government support was distributed and what measurable effects it had on household finances.

The issue ultimately centers on three elements: the amount of public money spent, the measures through which it was distributed and the results that followed. Establishing a clear link between these three elements would provide a more complete assessment of Morocco’s efforts to support purchasing power.