The legislative session held on Tuesday, February 3, in the House of Representatives, dedicated to the bill transforming ONHYM into a joint-stock company, went beyond the strict framework of legal debate. The Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leïla Benali, delivered a particularly direct intervention, denouncing persistent structural imbalances in the governance of the energy sector and calling for a reformation of public action rules in a field deemed strategic.
In a speech focusing on market mechanisms, competition, and economic sovereignty, the minister referred to dysfunctions she deems incompatible with a modern and impartial administration.
### “Confusion of Interests” and Lack of Competitive Neutrality
Leïla Benali offered a critical assessment by highlighting “persistent situations of incompatibility of functions, confusion of interests, and absence of competitive neutrality” in sectors meant to fall under sovereign and equitable governance.
According to the minister, several operators involved particularly in natural gas and associated infrastructures have raised serious concerns with the authorities. She mentioned practices of excessive concentration that could produce inflation risks on prices, hinder access to clean technologies, and obstruct the orderly development of the national energy system.
For Leïla Benali, these configurations not only weaken fair competition but also undermine the credibility of public action, at a time when Morocco seeks to accelerate its energy transition and secure its industrial choices.
### Warning on the Use of Public Funds Without Safeguards
The minister also cautioned against the deleterious effects of committing public funds in the absence of strict governance rules. She condemned situations where privileges can be granted without ensuring equal access conditions, and where economic activity remains influenced by closed circles.
Her intervention thus underscored the risks associated with the prolonged tolerance of practices contrary to the principles of transparency, competition, and good management, particularly in such a sensitive sector as energy.
### Reform Rooted in Sovereignty Logic
Continuing her remarks, Leïla Benali recalled the directions outlined in the Throne Speech of July 29, 2020, in which King Mohammed VI called for addressing structural imbalances affecting public establishments and enterprises, based on good governance, efficiency, and accountability.
Referring to this guiding principle, the minister framed the reform of ONHYM within a broader institutional logic: the restoration of the state’s strategic prerogatives and the strengthening of its role in managing sovereign sectors.
### “Energy Cannot Be Left to Rent-Seeking Logic”
The minister’s intervention takes on a particular political dimension in a sector historically marked by the influence of private interests. By linking institutional reform, price regulation, employment, and energy and mining sovereignty, Leïla Benali defended the idea that energy is a pillar of economic and social security and cannot be entrusted to mechanisms dominated by rent-seeking.
She finally warned that maintaining the current imbalances could delay Morocco’s access to clean technologies and weaken its position in upcoming strategic choices at a time when global competition around low-carbon energy is intensifying.
### A Reformation of Energy Governance Under Discussion
By placing energy issues at the heart of an institutional debate, Leïla Benali called for a reaffirmation of the state’s role as the arbiter of public interest in strategic sectors. This stance, beyond the bill concerning ONHYM, opens a broader discourse on modernizing energy governance and on creating conditions for a market that is more transparent, competitive, and aligned with the Kingdom’s transition objectives.
