A more digital administration, but not necessarily smoother
For several years, Morocco has been multiplying initiatives for administrative digitalization. Online tax declarations, business creation platforms, digitized municipal services: modernity seems to prevail. On paper, citizens save time and the state improves its performance. In practice, the journey often remains fragmented, cumbersome, and sometimes inconsistent.
Dematerialization has sometimes shifted complexity rather than eliminating it. An online form may still require a physical visit, a digital document may need handwritten approval, and a modern platform may demand an essential final human interaction.
The problem is not technological, but organizational
Morocco does not suffer from a major technological lag. The infrastructure exists, and so do skills. The true obstacle lies in the administrative organization itself. Digital systems are often developed in silos, lacking real interconnectivity between ministries, local authorities, and local administrations.
This lack of coordination results in a degraded user experience and feeds a perception of superficial modernization. Digital tools then become merely decorative, not a lever for structural reform.
Transparency and Traceability: Partially Fulfilled Promises
One of the major arguments for digitalization is the fight against opacity and arbitrary administration. While some platforms have indeed reduced informal maneuverability, others continue to operate without clear traceability, guaranteed timelines, or accessible recourse mechanisms.
Citizens sometimes find themselves facing a silent screen, unable to understand the real status of their case or identify a responsible party. Institutional trust cannot be decreed through an interface.
A Digital Divide Still Underestimated
Digital transformation requires a connected, equipped, and trained citizenry. However, a significant portion of the population remains distant from digital tools or dependent on intermediaries. This divide creates a two-speed administration, where progress first benefits the most informed.
Without human support, digitalization risks becoming a factor of exclusion rather than a vector for equality.
Real Modernization or Institutional Communication?
The Moroccan administration is making progress, but often more rapidly in its communication than in its deep transformation. Digitalization is still too often perceived as an end goal, whereas it should be a tool for a comprehensive reform of procedures, responsibilities, and administrative culture.
The question is not whether Morocco is digitalizing, but whether it is truly using digital tools to rethink its relationship with citizens.