A fire that broke out in an illegal petrol distribution pump in the city of Marrakech in recent days has sparked great anger among petrol station professionals, who are demanding rapid action from the authorities to curb the spread of these "ticking time bombs."
The National Federation of Owners, Merchants, and Managers of Petrol Stations in Morocco expressed, in a statement, its dissatisfaction with the growing phenomenon of "illegal pumps" that are spreading in the middle of neighbourhoods and residential areas in plain sight of the local authorities.
The same professional body noted that in light of this incident, which the city of Marrakech witnessed in the last days of last week, it warns the officials of the Red City, from administrative and elected authorities, along with the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, of the "danger of these pumps and the major threats they pose to the local population and the tourism industry in this city, which represents a hub for it and even a prominent landmark of tourism activity."
Jamal Zrikem, President of the National Federation of Owners, Merchants, and Managers of Petrol Stations in Morocco, explained in his statement to the electronic newspaper Hespress that they had previously warned the authorities of the danger of these illegal pumps and stations that operate outside the law, stressing that leniency towards them makes them turn into ticking time bombs that pose a danger to the entire population.
The aforementioned professional actor called on the local authorities in the Marrakech-Safi region to intervene to limit these illegal pumps in the middle of the tourist neighbourhoods and streets of Marrakech, which are preparing for major events.
The same speaker pointed out the necessity of activating the applicable law and protecting those affected by the activity of these illegal shops, both station owners and consumers alike.
The Federation had previously sent a letter to the Marrakech authorities in which it confirmed that these pumps are not subject to periodic monitoring by the competent services; "which makes the quality of this petrol tainted with many impurities, as well as the resort of some owners of these stations to market types of petrol that are relatively low-priced and of unknown origin."
The letter, which was sent by the president of the aforementioned professional federation, pointed to the existence of manipulations, "which makes the consumer significantly harmed; which has always been the subject of many complaints to many parties, in addition to most of them occupying the public domain without any right."
The Federation stressed that the work of these groups in a random manner and outside all legal regulations related to the marketing of fuels "harms the interests of a wide category of owners, merchants, and managers of petrol stations, as commercial institutions that are subject to the law and pay their tax duties and towards their employees, who are in the hundreds in the Marrakech-Safi region alone."
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