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Moroccan billionaire-designate Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch said on Monday he would cut ties with his family’s businesses, a move apparently intended to avoid accusations of mixing business with politics.
Akhannouch, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes at more than $ 2 billion, was tasked with forming a new government after his National Rally of Independents (RNI) defeated the incumbent Islamists in elections last week.
He had been Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries since 2017, during which time he was accused of collusion between business and politics.
In a statement released on Monday, his cabinet said it had initiated “an immediate process of withdrawing all management from the family holding company to devote itself fully to its new functions”.
Akhannouch’s RNI won 102 of the 395 seats in Morocco’s parliament, defeating the moderate Islamist Party for Justice and Development (PJD), which had led the ruling coalition for a decade but won just 13 seats on Wednesday. latest.
According to Forbes, Akhannouch is the majority owner of the Akwa Group, a multibillion-dollar oil, gas and chemical conglomerate co-founded by his father in 1932.
The RNI, considered close to the palace, has started coalition talks with the dolphin, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), founded by an influential royal adviser.
The two men clashed during the election campaign, with PAM accusing Akhannouch’s party of having bought votes.
But the head of the WFP, Abdelatif Ouahbi, declared Monday after meeting Akhannouch to have “received positive signs” and that “the dialogue will continue”.
Akhannouch has also met with other potential coalition partners, and said he hopes to form a “cohesive and united majority”.
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