Morocco’s king replaces health minister with her predecessor

RABAT – Morocco’s King Mohammed VI replaced Wednesday health minister Nabila Rmili with her predecessor Khalid Aït Taleb after she requested to fully focus on her function as mayor of the economic capital city of Casablanca, according to a statement issued by the Royal Office.

“In accordance with the provisions of article 47 of the Constitution, and following a proposal by the Head of Government, His Majesty King Mohammed VI - May God Assist Him - has kindly appointed Mr. Khalid Aït Taleb as Minister of Health and Social Protection, replacing Mrs. Nabila Rmili,” said the “statement.

“This appointment takes place in accordance with the constitutional provisions, and after the submission to the Royal High Appreciation of the proposal of the Head of Government, aimed at ending the governmental functions of Mrs. Rmili who requested to fully focus on her functions of President of the Council of the city of Casablanca.

“And this, after realizing the workload of this representative mission, and the continuous monitoring of the issues of its inhabitants and the projects underway in this big metropolis, which may impact the several commitments and the daily monitoring required by the health sector, particularly during the pandemic period,” it added.

“His Majesty the King - May God Preserve Him - kindly gave His Approval to the proposal of the Head of Government to appoint Mr. Aït Taleb, in order to continue the projects underway and address the urgent challenges of the Health Sector, in particular the continued management of the health component of the COVID-19 pandemic and the smooth running of the national vaccination campaign,” concluded the statement.

King Mohammed VI’s decision was welcomed by Casablancans who had taken to social media, including the group “Save Casablanca” on Facebook since Rmili’s appointment as health minister to urge her to step down from the ministry and focus on their city which where several ongoing infrastructure projects are causing huge traffic jams and bottlenecks.