« They control everything« ; « their grip on public policies is total »; « they operate in secrecy« ; « they win contracts left and right without necessarily going through tenders« ; « ministries outsource the state’s intellectual capital to them« … Major consulting firms are at the center of much speculation.
Between admiration and rejection, they crystallize interest around their actions, reflecting the increasingly significant role they play in public decision-making. McKinsey, BCG, Roland Berger, Bain, PWC, as well as local firms like Southbridge A&I, Mazars, Capital Consulting, or the omnipresent Valyans, have become indispensable consulting firms.
Over the years, their incursion into the core of public power has continued to grow. Plan Azur, Plan Maroc Vert, Plan Emergence, Plan Rawaj, Vision 2020 for tourism, the World Cup bid, the new CRI (Regional Investment Centers), new OFPPT (Office of Vocational Training and Promotion of Work) competency centers… they are involved in every topic, and ministries keep seeking their services. How have they made themselves so indispensable?
Shaping the laws?
In early April, information leaked that the Minister of Tourism and Social Economy had turned to two consulting firms to assist in drafting a law on the social and solidarity economy. The figure of 3.9 million dirhams was mentioned.
People questioned why this ministry, despite having high-level civil servants, felt the need to outsource the drafting of a bill to an external provider. Was this a case of encroaching on a sovereign function of the state? Without knowing the details of the operation, many cried scandal.
“It is not at all about drafting the law in place of the ministry,” clarifies Hassan Belkhayat, founder and managing partner of Southbridge A&I, the firm that, along with Afrique Advisors led by Leila Slassi, won the contract at the heart of the controversy. “This was done with full transparency, following a completely clear bidding process.”
Belkhayat specifies that the firm’s role is not to provide the ministry with a turnkey bill but simply to offer reflection points on a topic still new to the executive, based on international expertise.
Nonetheless, with the French McKinsey Gate scandal in mind, this contract has come to symbolize a certain incompetence of the state, seen as unable to define its own strategies and, out of convenience, outsourcing tasks that should fall to its services, albeit at a high price.
“Civil servants hold positions with heavy workloads, each at their level, and it is difficult to pull them out of their operational routines to assign them to a four-month mission, working 20 hours a day”
While the criticism is understandable, consulting firms explain the increasingly frequent use of their services by ministries and public organizations with practical reasons.
The managing partner of this Casablanca-based firm presents several arguments: “In theory, state entities certainly have the skills to do the job we are tasked with, but civil servants are in positions with heavy workloads, each at their level. It’s difficult to pull them out of their operational routines to assign them to a four-month mission, working 20 hours a day.”
In other words, assigning internal resources to temporary missions that require full dedication and exclude all other tasks makes no sense from an economic and organizational perspective.
Consultomania
This is where consultants come in. Whether juniors or seniors, managers or partners, foreign or local, they possess qualifications meeting global standards, quickly mastering newly discovered subjects, and are flexible and adaptable. Unlike ministry staff, they are « fully dedicated to the mission for its entire duration. »
For ministers, the goal is simple: to achieve results without disrupting the management of their department or upsetting an organizational structure often set in stone.
The only solution, then, is to turn to a recognized consulting firm. And in this field, every topic is covered. Even the country’s deconfinement strategy was entrusted to BCG. From diverse subjects like public administration modernization, energy strategy, to the now massive task of digitizing administrative processes, these firms are involved.
Jazouli, the missing link
A sign of the times, and undoubtedly of the increasing interconnection between consulting firms and public power, is the case of Mouhcine Jazouli. Founder of one of the consulting firms most involved in shaping state strategies, Valyans (in which he is no longer a shareholder), he was appointed in October (2021, editor’s note) as Deputy Minister for Investment, Convergence, and Evaluation of Public Policies.
Tested and approved by Aziz Akhannouch, he inherited a key position in the RNI (National Rally of Independents) at a time when the kingdom is attempting to reconcile the major royal project, the New Development Model (NMD), with government-driven public policies.
“His ability to synthesize, gained from his long experience in consulting, will certainly be invaluable,” says one of his former colleagues at Valyans. But some, aside from Jazouli’s competence, see this as the ultimate stage of the infiltration of public decision-making by consulting firms.
Jazouli’s presence in the government, especially in a role as an evaluator of public policies, indeed represents a sort of apex of the perceived dominance of consulting firms over a state now almost entirely dependent on their expertise.
This now-central role of consulting firms in preparing strategic options for the government and public companies was far from guaranteed. It represents the culmination of a saga that began in the few years preceding the new reign.
Consulting, the origins
Flashback to the mid-1990s. At the time, long-term policies were determined by a dusty Minister of Planning. It was the golden age of the five-year plans, cherished by Hassan II. The administrative apparatus hummed along. Morocco was painfully emerging from the Structural Adjustment Program, a real drain imposed by the IMF.
The state, drained, was searching for a new direction. A few international consulting firms, like Arthur Andersen, occasionally supported by local firms, were performing technical missions for the administration, often focusing on legal aspects.
The development of strategies was still the domain of state services, and nothing seemed to disrupt a modus operandi sedimented by time and habit.
However, a seemingly insignificant event would break with tradition. Elected president of the Souss-Massa-Drâa regional council in 2003, Aziz Akhannouch, a young businessman passionate about the new theories of « lean management » (a method of work management and organization aimed at improving a company’s performance) from the Anglo-Saxon world, sparked a mini-big bang by entrusting the region’s development plan to McKinsey.
The American firm proposed a roadmap that hit the mark. In Rabat, the results obtained in his region by the Soussi billionaire piqued curiosity. The name McKinsey was soon on everyone’s lips. « It felt modern, » recalls a consultant.
Very quickly, the main ministries got wind of it, and each demanded its own strategy. At that time, McKinsey Morocco was only a medium-sized structure, launched by Amine Tazi Riffi in 1999.
Working within the Geneva office of the American firm, Riffi set his sights on Casablanca after McKinsey Switzerland was embroiled in the Swissair scandal. Under the influence of the American firm, the Swiss airline had taken a disastrous strategic turn, which led it to the brink of bankruptcy.
Without neglecting the private sector, Riffi focused on public policies. Unlike the usual practices of major firms, he primarily recruited Moroccans. But not just any Moroccans—all were graduates of elite French schools such as Polytechnique, HEC, Ponts et Chaussées, Mines, Centrales, ESSEC, and ESCP-EAP.
Ultra-motivated by the quality of the assignments and a starting salary of 19,000 dirhams for a junior consultant position, they worked long hours to last and, if possible, advance in rank. Because, in the world of major consulting firms, the rule is clear: it’s « up or out. » You either advance or fall!
“We gave up highly lucrative careers in England and across Europe to come to Morocco, driven by the desire to serve the country.”
Increasingly solicited by ministries, McKinsey Morocco had no difficulty recruiting. This is how Amine Tazi Riffi managed to attract profiles like Hassan Belkhayat and Youssef Tazi, future founders of the consulting firm Southbridge. « We gave up highly lucrative careers in England and across Europe to come to Morocco, driven by the desire to serve the country, » explains Belkhayat.
Gradually, the firm became deeply rooted in Morocco’s public landscape. It worked notably on the sale of the second GSM license to a consortium led by the Spanish company Telefonica and supported Morocco’s bid to host the 2010 World Cup. However, it was the mission entrusted by Aziz Akhannouch for the Souss-Massa-Drâa region that truly put McKinsey on the map.
The success was such that the American firm caught the attention of Salaheddine Mezouar, then Minister of Industry. Together with Prime Minister Driss Jettou, the government was preparing to launch a series of major projects. McKinsey took the lead. In 2005, it secured the design of the Plan Emergence, aimed at upgrading a national industry struggling with competitiveness.
It was McKinsey that identified the famous global industries (aeronautics, automotive, offshoring, agribusiness, etc.), which still serve as the industrial compass for the kingdom today.
Breaking the shackles of the Washington consensus
The firm delivered satisfactory results, particularly as it allowed Morocco to break free from the dictates of the Washington Consensus. Before consulting firms gained prominence, the World Bank and the IMF held sway over advisory services through their technical assistance.
“On one hand, they handed out lines of credit, and on the other, they disseminated the liberal dogma—sharp cuts in spending, widespread service sector reforms, deregulation, the invisible hand, and so on,” recalls a consultant.
McKinsey came in with different, more innovative ideas, focused on industrial autonomy. This earned the firm the Tanger Med project, supported by Mohamed Meziane Belfkih.
As one of the most visionary royal advisors, Belfkih had a particular affinity for graduates of prestigious engineering schools, and consulting firms were full of them. When the Hassan II Fund was established, a budget of 100 million dirhams was allocated for studies.
Sectoral strategies began to take shape: the Green Morocco Plan (PMV), the energy strategy, Emergence II, Vision 2020, the emergency education plan… McKinsey and Valyans secured most of the contracts, with deliverables flowing in, all closely scrutinized by Belfkih.
Under his influence, consulting structures experienced unprecedented growth. Another key player was Mostafa Terrab. Appointed in February 2006 to head OCP, which was weakened by a drop in phosphate rock prices, the new CEO sought a comprehensive overhaul of the Office, which was plagued by operational inefficiencies. McKinsey was brought in to handle the task.
From the slurry pipeline to the sharp increase in rock prices, the mission was multifaceted, covering extraction processes, logistics, international positioning, export market identification—everything was included.
In OCP’s Casablanca offices, consultants camped day and night. “I spent two years walking the halls of OCP,” recalls a former junior consultant. “Terrab’s Anglo-Saxon mindset, as a former MIT alumnus, perfectly aligned with the methodologies of the major consulting firms,” says a former Office employee.
However, the OCP chief didn’t take everything McKinsey proposed at face value. Initially, McKinsey recommended focusing solely on selling the rock to reduce the Office’s debt. Terrab opted for transformation instead. His decision to focus on fertilizers proved successful.
The ripple effect triggered by OCP spread widely, and the state’s orders flooded in. The work followed a recurring pattern: major global firms handled strategy, while Moroccan entities, such as Valyans and Capital Consulting, took care of implementation.
Morocco then appeared on BCG’s radar, and the firm decided to set up operations, almost immediately securing contracts for the national pharmacy strategy, the ambitious Triple A project for a unified African agricultural initiative, and more recently, Generation Green, the second phase of the PMV.
Firms like Roland Berger and Bain, which didn’t have physical offices in Morocco, and were referred to as « fly in, fly out, » also secured contracts. Assignments followed one after another. Riding on the wave of the “glorious ten,” a decade of solid growth (2000-2010), the Moroccan state became dependent on consulting firms.
What is the role of civil servants?
The monitoring, management, and long-term support of sectoral strategies require thousands of man-days. The cost of these missions, sometimes decided on a no-bid basis, is shrouded in ambiguity. These missions cost millions of dirhams to ministers who already have well-trained staff, presumably capable of doing the job.
« A ministry or public organization renews its strategy every five years; you’re not going to hire for a mission that only happens once every five years, » says the managing partner of a Casablanca-based firm. According to him, for the state, the deal is favorable despite the considerable expense. “Investment,” the consultant corrects us.
The question that arises, beyond the allocation of resources and time for developing a public strategy, is: what is to be done with the senior officials of the civil service? What is their role, beyond their operational duties, if the state is forced to pay a consultant between 10,000 and 40,000 dirhams a day to do the work?
“The high-level resource capable of imagining a strategy with minimal training hardly exists anymore”
For the major consulting firms, the answer is obvious: “The high-level resource capable of imagining a strategy with minimal training hardly exists anymore.” Simply put, the salary conditions for civil servants no longer attract elite profiles.
The private sector has replaced the public sector in terms of salary incentives. As a result, the “top performers” are leaving the job security offered by the state to take on the private sector, which is riskier but far more lucrative.
As skills become scarce, the role of the consultant becomes almost indispensable. “To develop a strategy, it’s not just about being sharp; first, you have to leave Rabat, go out into the field, and most importantly, it’s a whole methodology, a profession in itself,” the consultant adds.
Another strong argument is the multidisciplinary nature of consulting firms. Whether available locally or not, the most diverse expertise can be mobilized through the global network of major firms. “Consider that with us, the state can send 3 to 4 Polytechnique graduates to work on a local issue in the Oued Eddahab region; it’s a great opportunity for the state and for Morocco,” says the managing partner interviewed.
“There is inevitably a gap in knowledge and skills between the public sector and the consulting firms”
Finally, it is impossible for the state to keep up with the latest innovations and remain constantly up to date in a world increasingly dependent on technology. « With the rapid rise of digital technology and the need to manage and protect data, the public sector has been somewhat left behind. It is forced to turn to consulting firms that have already evolved on these new themes. There is, therefore, inevitably a gap in knowledge and skills between the public sector and the consulting firms, » analyzes Abdou Diop, managing partner at Mazars.
Recycling facility
“Consulting firms are recovery units without real added value”
One of the most frequent criticisms of consulting firms is their tendency to use pre-existing work. “They are recovery units without real added value,” asserts this former Islamist minister.
Often, consultants feed their PowerPoints with information already published elsewhere or from archives forgotten in the old drawers of ministries. The consultants defend themselves: “Our sources are interviews with civil servants, fieldwork, the group’s think tanks, and, of course, public information.”
Another criticism is their tendency to recycle deliverables from previous missions. A few tweaks, and an old strategy can be presented to a new client, unnoticed. Reheated! This is called “One size fits all”—a single solution for all situations.
“While smaller firms may engage in such practices, global firms have no interest in doing so; they have a reputation to uphold. Recycling old work and compromising the confidentiality of information are two things we never compromise on,” says the consultant.
If it’s free, its a win
Influencing public decision-makers, consulting firms base their analyses on often confidential data, which raises concerns about its use. Commissioned by several countries and private companies, consultants accumulate data that is worth its weight in gold.
“What do we sell, ultimately? We sell credibility. The moment it is discovered that a consulting firm has compromised protected information from a client, that would be the end for them”
Our partner wonders: “What do we sell, ultimately? We sell credibility. The moment it’s discovered that a consulting firm has compromised protected information from a client, that would be the end of them— the market would never forgive such a mistake.” This is a misstep consulting firms scrupulously avoid, given the enormous potential that still exists in Morocco.
Most consulting firms, if not all, do not hesitate to offer their services for free.
There’s no point in alienating such a generous client. To gain and remain in the good graces of the state, consulting firms engage in fierce competition. Most, if not all, do not hesitate to offer their services for free. According to our estimates, pro bono work makes up to 30% of consulting firms’ activities in Morocco.
“They propose so many ideas, so many enticing projects, that at some point, you end up giving in”
Volunteering to assist a ministry, a state-owned enterprise (EEP), or a public organization in strategic thinking allows for a form of soft infiltration. Over time, networks are woven, and a dependency forms. “They propose so many ideas, so many enticing projects, that at some point you end up giving in,” admits a senior director at the Ministry of Health.
Ministers, after dealing with a consulting firm, do not hesitate to pick up the phone to ask for advice from a managing partner, or even for an accompaniment that requires time and effort. « Never saying no is frowned upon and can cost you future contracts, » a consultant tells us.
For example, when Chakib Benmoussa, Minister of Education, was trying to revive public schools, a swarm of consultants rushed to the bedside of this ailing institution, offering advice after advice… for free.
The same thing happened during the development of the NMD (New Development Model). Members of the CSMD (Special Commission on the Development Model) listened extensively to a group of consultants from the most prestigious firms. Again, the services were not charged.
Everything is done to foster dependency on these private firms, whose staff have gradually replaced administrative executives.
The ideal scenario is for a minister, loyal through the “freemium” model, to bypass the tender process and award contracts directly. The public procurement code allows this, provided a special exemption from the Head of Government is obtained.
Uberizing the state?
“Consulting firms advocate for a sort of dismantling of the state, deemed inefficient and redundant, within a purely neoliberal framework”
Under the guise of change management, most missions take on the objective of doing more with fewer resources. « Consulting firms advocate for a kind of dismantling of the state, deemed inefficient and redundant, within a purely neoliberal framework, » laments this former Islamist minister.
His assessment is supported by a comment from a partner interviewed: « The state is too present; it drags along like a burden with its massive payroll. It needs to evolve its role towards regulation primarily. »
In other words, privatize everything and focus only on setting the rules. Aside from a few feeble resistances, like that of former Prime Minister Saâd-Eddine El Othmani, who at the end of his term issued a note calling for minimal use of « studies » (see box below), the involvement of consulting firms in the heart of public governance does not cause much concern.
Especially since their omnipresence seems to reassure international donors and development aid agencies. « The endorsement of a major consulting firm can indeed lend credibility to a strategy, » confirms Abdou Diop.
“What must be avoided is an excessive reliance on these services. If there is a need to consult a firm for specific support, which will bring unavailable expertise or international benchmarking, I find that “halal. »”
Having led the Plan Emergence 1 as a former Minister of Industry, Ahmed Réda Chami tasked the Valyans firm with the PMO (project management) aspect. He acknowledges his reliance on reports produced by consulting firms but adds a nuance: “What must be avoided is excessive use of these services. In my opinion, it’s important to first use the collective intelligence of your teams, draw on their cumulative experience, as well as that of other national and international institutions like the World Bank, when appropriate. Finally, if there is a need to consult a firm for specific support that will bring unavailable expertise or international benchmarking, I find that ‘acceptable,’ and if I had to do it again, I wouldn’t hesitate.”
Indeed, over the past 20 years, strategies, in the strictest sense, have breathed new life into the state’s framework, which used to be excessively centralized. While they have removed responsibility from many ministers and senior officials by taking over the intellectual groundwork for public policies, overall, the experience is not entirely to be discarded.
With the exception of the industrial failures such as the education emergency plan, a Titanic costing 43 billion dirhams and conceived by Valyans, and the Plan Azur, the overall picture isn’t bad.
Thinking is good, but executing is even better
“Approximately 30% of orders remain theoretical, gathering dust in a drawer due to a lack of optimal execution”
There remains a major concern: the gap between the strategies ordered by the State and those that come to fruition remains too significant. “Approximately 30% of orders remain theoretical, gathering dust in a drawer due to a lack of optimal execution,” notes Hassan Belkhayat.
To prevent a single consulting firm from controlling both the development and implementation of a public policy, the State will assign the strategy to one firm and its implementation to another. This dualism can create dysfunctions in the execution process. The entity responsible for implementing the strategy may indeed fail to effectively execute a roadmap whose purpose and stakes it does not fully understand.
Ultimately, as summarized by the current president of the CESE, Ahmed Réda Chami: “Whether the strategy is developed internally or externally, in itself, is not the problem. It is the ability to execute it that will determine its success or failure. And at that level, much remains to be done.”
“The vision should not come from the consulting firm, which is only tasked with formalizing it”
In addition to execution capability, questions also arise regarding the initial impetus. How far will the influence of major consulting firms be allowed to spread? “The vision should not come from the consulting firm, which is only tasked with formalizing it,” warns Abdou Diop. However, according to some consultants speaking off the record, the Rubicon may have already been crossed: “Some ministers are telling us to go ahead; you have a free hand.”
In principle, the more technocracy expands in politics, the more the influence of consulting firms is expected to intensify. As Lina Lahrichi, senior manager at Southbridge, who has returned from Paris after five years in consulting, reports, “We have observed an unprecedented phenomenon, a sort of exodus of young consultants to ministers’ firms.”
The composition of the Akhannouch government, which is overrepresented by former private sector managers, might explain the interest of these young professionals in public service. Does this migration foreshadow a “merger-absorption” between the elite of consulting firms and the administration? Is the already fragile line between them about to disappear? We would then no longer be talking about the influence of consulting firms on public policies, but rather about control. Total?
The perspective is unsettling…
Written in French by Réda Dalil and Soufiane Chahid, edited in English by Eric Nielson
Expenditures: When El Othmani said « stop baraka »
On September 9, 2021, former Prime Minister Saâd-Eddine El Othmani issued a circular to senior state officials, pointing out “non-compliance with procedures and guidelines, particularly those outlined in the Finance Laws related to the management of expenditures by ministerial departments and other state institutions.”
Among the expenditures targeted by Saâd-Eddine El Othmani were those related to studies commissioned by ministerial departments from external providers, such as consulting firms.
This decision by the Prime Minister followed, according to our information, the rejection of a tender commissioned by the Ministry of Health for the architecture of its system, with an estimated cost of 22 million dirhams. The cost was deemed exorbitant by Saâd-Eddine El Othmani, who decided to scrutinize all study requests.
Our sources also indicate that a reflection had begun within the Prime Minister’s office to create an Agency for Studies and Archives that would consolidate and archive all studies commissioned by the government in the past.
Through this agency, the Prime Minister’s office aimed to end redundant studies and thus lighten the state’s finances. According to our sources, the project is currently at a standstill.
