Morocco moves to create regionalisation programme

2010-01-05

Supporters of a recently announced plan to give Morocco's regional governments more control over their future say such moves will boost sustainable development.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 05/01/10

[Abdelhak Senna/AFP/Getty Images] PAM's Mohammed Cheikh Biadillah is welcoming a plan to delegate more power Morocco's regions.

Morocco is moving ahead with an initiative to give regional authorities more power to determine their own paths to development based on local conditions.

King Mohammed VI on January 3rd addressed a 22-member advisory committee tasked with drafting a regionalisation plan within six months.

The king said regionalisation would include the division of power and resources among local councils, within a decentralised system of government. The initiative would also encourage inter-regional coordination, and a more participatory approach to government.

One of the key objectives of the programme will be to benefit the "southern provinces," according to the king.

The advisory committee will have to devise "a model that takes account of the situation in Morocco and is inspired by other, successful models on the international stage," said political science professor Fouad Madani.

"Regionalisation will help ensure that development targets are met, because each region will run its own affairs in accordance with its particular circumstances and resources while observing the principle of inter-regional solidarity," added Madani.

The committee must find ways to boost the power of regions so they can effectively contribute to Morocco's socio-economic and cultural development, Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi said in a press statement released on January 3rd.

"The committee will listen to the parties concerned and local, regional and national experts," he said. "It has much work to do."

The committee, which is led by Morocco's ambassador to Spain, Omar Azzamine, is expected to deliver its report within six months.

Observers and politicians welcomed the initiative and said it would have a positive impact on development.

"Regionalisation will enable each region to run its own affairs effectively and allow regions to make the best use of their human, economic and cultural resources," said Zineb El Adaoui, who heads the regional body of auditors in Rabat.

"The enhanced regionalisation plan will create a precedent for how the regionalisation process will be implemented nationwide," said Party of Authenticity and Modernity secretary general Mohammed Cheikh Biadillah. "This will help achieve sustainable development."

Political analyst Mohammed Grine said the purpose of the committee was two-fold. Its first aim, a strategic one, will be to transform initial efforts made towards regionalisation into a concrete and large-scale system.

In this vein, Morocco initiated the regionalisation of health care and services in 2006, which encouraged regions to take responsibility for their own medical infrastructure. It also launched an urban decentralisation programme in 2009.

The second aim, Grine claimed, is linked to Morocco's concerns about the Western Sahara issue.

"It [the regionalisation initiative] sends out a message to the Polisario," said Grine. "Morocco will not wait forever for negotiations. While seeking a solution through the United Nations, Morocco is taking concrete action."