The sovereign insisted, in this respect, on the need to apply rigorously the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 1 of the Constitution which links public office with accountability.
"It is high time this principle were implemented in full," said the sovereign, adding that, just as the law applies equally to all citizens, it must be applied, first and foremost, to all officials, without distinction or discrimination, and in all of the Kingdom's regions.
This is the dawn of a new era in which there is no difference between officials and citizens as far as civic rights and obligations are concerned; nor is there room for shirking responsibility or avoiding sanctions, said the sovereign.
What is the meaning of responsibility if the official concerned loses sight of one of the most basic requirements of that responsibility, which is to listen to citizens' concerns? HM the King wondered.
"I fail to understand how officials who do not fulfill their duties can leave home, drive their cars, stop at traffic lights and brazenly and shamelessly look people in the face, knowing that they are aware of their unscrupulous conduct," the monarch said.
"Are these people who took the oath before God, the homeland and the King, and who fail to perform their duties, not ashamed of themselves? Should not any official who is guilty of dereliction of duty be held to account and dismissed? HM the King wondered again.
"The responsibility and the privilege of serving citizens call for action that goes from responding to their basic demands to implementing projects - big and small. As I always point out, there is no difference between small and large projects. All projects are meant to meet people's needs," HM the King underlined.
Whether a project concerns a district, a hamlet, a city, a region or the entire country, it still has the same objective, which is to serve citizens. In the eyes of citizens, digging a well or building a dam, for instance, are equally important, His Majesty said.