Bill No. 98.18, relating to the National Order of Pharmacists, again came up against Parliament, following the failure of the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Khalid Ait Talib, to take advantage of the interval between the two sessions to adopt the draft decree-law n°2.23.195 enacting provisions relating to the organization of the elections of the Regional Councils of pharmacists of the North and the South.
In an unprecedented step, the majority and the opposition have united to block the adoption of the project, on which the government has bet to put an end to the legal vacuum that has lasted for years, following the end of the mandate of the two regional councils of pharmacies in the north and in the south, without the body being able to hold elections to renew its mandates on the dates set.
Said Baaziz, deputy of the Social Union of Popular Forces (USFP) in the House of Representatives, confirmed that this project is experiencing exaggerated obstacles and that the way to deal with it contributes to wasting considerable time, questioning the Minister of Health to reveal the reasons for the failure of bill n° 98.18 relating to the National Order of Pharmacists and the date of consultation of the latter.
In a parliamentary question addressed to Aït Taleb, Baaziz pointed out that bill n°98.18 relating to the National Order of Pharmacists was previously approved by the Council of Government on Thursday, November 7, 2019, then returned to the House of Representatives. on Wednesday, December 25, 2019, to then be referred to the Committee on Social Sectors on Thursday, January 9, 2020.
He also pointed out that changes were made to this draft on January 27, 2023, noting that “ since that day, we have been waiting for the scheduling of a session to decide and vote on the project“.
The aforementioned bill contains provisions that provide for the creation of a special administrative commission responsible for preparing and organizing the elections of the two regional councils of pharmacies in the north and south, the appointment of the chairman of the commission and its members , as well as the setting of the date of entry into office by decree issued on the proposal of the government authority responsible for health.
According to the government draft, the methods of preparation and organization of the elections were determined by the commission, within a maximum period of six (6) months from the date of entry into office of the commission, in addition to the enactment of transitional provisions aimed at ensuring the continuity of the work of the two regional councils concerned during the period of organization of the elections.
For his part, the Pjdiste deputy, Mustapha Ibrahimi, also a member of the social sectors committee in the House of Representatives, confirmed that the original law exists and that it must be put to the vote after having exhausted all the stages related to the detailed discussion and introduced amendments. He indicated that the program of the meetings of the commission of the social sectors of the Parliament was modified more than three times in order to adopt the project.
Thus, Ibrahimi recorded that the Order of Pharmacists has always encountered problems, and that the crisis exploded when Houcine El Ouardi decided to dissolve the two Councils of North and South. This decision led to an attempt of physical aggression against him inside the Hemicycle. Ibrahimi considered that the stumble of the bill of the College of Pharmacists, which went through all the stages of the legislative procedure in the House of Representatives, reflects the existence of a ” conflict of interest which stands in the way of the exit of the project.