Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of Public Affairs and Governance Lahcen Daoudi said the Moroccan government is keen to keep an eye on the national market and combat fraud and corruption, which is a growing problem in the holy month of Ramadan. “Unfortunately, every year fraud and corruption increase during Ramadan, and the problem is not the lack of supply, especially that most of the goods available are imported,” Daoudi explained during the parliamentary oral questions session on Monday. He stressed that the problem lies in the intermediaries, who take advantage of the situation and raise the goods’ prices. The prevailing culture in the society allows “some people to exploit Ramadan to raise the prices not in the central markets that we monitor.” The government official criticized Moroccan consumers, who, according to him, buy more than their consumption during the first week of Ramadan, which leads to increased demand, thus price hike. Daoudi stressed that the government is prepared around the clock to face these manipulations, noting that it has established a ministerial body comprising the ministries of interior, publicaffairs and governance, industry and trade, and health. He said Moroccans also bear responsibility because the committees cannot monitor everyone “in every street,” pointing that government bodies in charge of price and goods control have set up hotline numbers for Moroccan citizens to report cases of corruption and monopoly. “If the citizens cooperate with us, we will reach the goal of fighting corruption and corrupts.” The Moroccan minister rejected deputies’ accusations that the government is unable to play its role in controlling prices and protecting consumers from the greed of speculators in the holy month.