Marruecos confecciona un plan para suprimir los barrios marginales

The head of the Al-Omran group, Bader Al-Kanouni, stressed in a speech on the occasion of National Engineering Day, that the aforementioned figure of 1.5 million "represents 83% of the target underlined in the national programme to combat inadequate housing." In 2004, Morocco launched the "Cities without slums" programme to improve the housing conditions of more than 1.8 million people in 85 cities, and to completely eliminate slums in Morocco by 2020. However, this programme did not bear the desired fruits under the previous government, headed by the secretary general of the Justice and Development Party, Abdel-Ilah Benkirane, before regaining its coordination under the new government headed by Aziz Akhannouch. 

The Akhannouch-led administration continues to take steps forward in order to boost economic and social development in the country. In its latest move, Morocco's Ministry of Urbanism and Housing promoted "social dialogue" on urbanism and housing in order to boost access to housing for Moroccan citizens, a project that is part of the New Development Model to boost economic development in the kingdom. The head of the Al-Omran group, which implements housing and territorial development policy in Morocco, stressed that the efforts made by the group in implementing its action plans in cooperation with local municipalities have improved the housing conditions of more than eight million citizens throughout the territory.

According to the local daily Hespress, the number of social housing units with prices ranging from 14 to 200 thousand dirhams, which were built directly or in partnership with the private sector, reached 133,215 units until last September, of which 165,260 units were launched. Morocco's slums go by various names, including "Dawaer", "Braik" or "Karyanat". According to official data, Casablanca, the economic capital of the Kingdom, is the largest, followed by the city of Skhirat. The first nuclei of these communities emerged during the French and Spanish occupation of Morocco at the beginning of the last century in the suburbs of some cities, mainly inhabited by poor Spaniards who were relocated to the country. 

Ownership of these houses was transferred to Moroccan citizens after independence, only to see these dwellings spread to the outskirts of large cities, and over time these shantytowns became random houses built of stones and mud, lacking the minimum services for a dignified life. The transformation of slums into smaller towns is exacerbated by thousands of Moroccans living in remote villages and hamlets who have been forced by economic conditions to move to larger cities such as Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier, Marrakech and Fez. Al-Omran Group is currently building four new towns as part of the implementation of its major project. 

Over the past decades, several governments in Morocco have tried to find a solution to this dilemma, but have failed. This programme has opened a window of hope for thousands of Moroccan families to enjoy decent housing that meets the necessities of life, but the project stumbles before reaching the desired goal. Al-Omran Group's aim is not only to redistribute families living in the slums of the cities, but it is also building new cities. In total, the company has more than 40 projects in operation. According to the company's own officials, the abolition of slums will entail greater cooperation between all parties involved, among other reasons, due to the high growth that the country, and in particular cities such as Rabat and Casablanca, are experiencing. 

In spite of everything, the data provided by the group in charge of the plan are outstanding. The governor of Casablanca, Settat, Said Ahmidouch, explained that the problem of housing provision is still very complex and ended his speech by explaining that "all officials are trying to deal with the future problems of the sector, but we often find ourselves dealing with the remnants of the past". One of the main challenges facing the Alawi kingdom is to deal with the ambitious urban planning strategy that the Akhannouch government is trying to promote. With this challenge in mind, the urban planning strategy is one of the most important ones being contemplated at the moment because of the current shortage of housing stock compared to demand.