World Bulletin / News Desk

After years fighting to evict tenants he believes are backed by corrupt officials, Slimane Brihmi called a much-heralded anti-graft hotline in Morocco -- but it made no difference.

The toll-free "Green Number" is an anonymous service launched with much fanfare in June 2015 to let members of the public report on corrupt officials.

Hicham Mellati, acting director for criminal cases at the justice ministry and head of the project, said the line received some 6,000 calls a day in its early months, later falling to around 500 a day.

But 30 months on, it has produced only 36 prosecutions, official figures show.

"The anonymity of calls is a guarantee of security, but some whistleblowers back out when it comes to filing a complaint," Mellati said.

He added that around 80 percent of calls either lack evidence or do not "really" relate to corruption.

Brihmi, a 41-year-old bus driver from Sale on the outskirts of Rabat, is convinced that his tenants, who taunt him and refuse to pay up, have "backup" from a ministry.

He called the anti-corruption hotline to complain that magistrates and police had not enforced repeated eviction orders from the courts. But he had no evidence against them.

"I don't have any trust anymore, I have rights and those who should be enforcing them don't do it," he said.