Rural development, an essential vector of economic growth and social justice, occupies a central place in the government strategy led by the Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests, as stipulated by the decree n° 2-12-33 of March 7, 2012. In this sense, the Program for Reducing Spatial and Social Disparities 2017-2023 set up by the ministry has already enabled notable progress, including the construction of 861 health infrastructures, the creation of 678 water supply systems, the electrification of 1,103 douars and the maintenance of 20,454 km of rural roads.
As part of the national strategy for the development of rural and mountainous areas, promulgated by the permanent ministerial committee and adopted in July 2015, an innovative program aimed at reducing territorial and social disparities was created, drawing inspiration from the speech of the Throne pronounced by King Mohammed VI on July 30, 2015, underlined the Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Ahmed El Bouari.
The official affirmed, in a response to a written question sent by Driss Sentissi, head of the parliamentary group of the Popular Movement (MP) in the House of Representatives, that this speech gave a strong dynamic to the government, encouraging it to deploy a integrated action plan based on strategic synergy between the various ministerial departments and institutions concerned. This plan aims to effectively finance essential infrastructure projects, specifically in local authorities and the most remote regions, while adhering to a rigorous execution schedule to ensure tangible and lasting impacts.
With a budget of 50 billion dirhams for the period 2017-2023, the Program for Reducing Spatial and Social Disparities aims to lift the isolation of rural populations through the renovation of roads and tracks, while strengthening access to water, electricity, health and education.
In addition, he explained that the strategy is based on the integration of disparities into regional planning, aided by monitoring mechanisms and active partnerships with elected officials, decentralized services and local structures. This ensures a precise assessment of the impact of actions undertaken, structured around 19 indicators, making it possible to target interventions and adjust priorities.
In addition, the precise identification of the initial situation in each region, the preliminary definition of the actors involved as well as their responsibilities, the ranking of strategic priorities, the coherent continuity of interventions and the rigorous evaluation of the expected impacts are key elements for the realization of the integrated vision and objectives of the program.
Aware of the crucial importance of this model, a robust organizational and administrative framework was established to support the institutional architecture dedicated to rural and mountainous development, argued El Bouari. This framework engages the competent entities at the national and regional level, bringing together ministries, public institutions and elected entities.
For its part, the permanent ministerial commission for rural development and mountainous areas, formed by the ministers concerned, and the national commission for rural development and mountainous areas, composed of the general secretaries of the ministries or their representatives, have the mission of orient and supervise regional and thematic commissions, including those responsible for developing alternative solutions for monitoring projects implemented in rural and mountainous local authorities.
On the other hand, the regional commissions for rural development and mountainous areas, under the presidency of walis and presidents of regional councils, in collaboration with decentralized services and territorial stakeholders, ensure diligent monitoring. The central management of the Ministry of Agriculture, through the Directorate of Rural Development and Mountainous Areas, as well as its decentralized services within the regional directorates of Agriculture, are piloting this vast rural and mountainous development project.
To achieve the objectives of the Territorial and Social Disparities Reduction Program, various field projects have been carried out for the benefit of 14.3 million people living in rural areas, covering 1,245 local authorities, 140 municipalities with rural centers, and 91 urban communities, detailed the minister.
According to El Bouari, many sectors have made significant progress. In the field of health, 861 projects relating to the construction, extension and renovation of health infrastructure were completed. In addition, 1,489 vehicles, including ambulances and mobile medical units, were acquired, accompanied by essential medical equipment.
For drinking water supply, 678 systems were installed, extending the network by 1,092 km. In addition, 29,965 individual and mixed connections, as well as numerous fountains, have been put in place to serve local communities. The rural electrification sector has also seen notable progress, with the electrification of 1,103 douars and an extension of the electricity network covering 1,052 km.
In the field of education, a total of 3,242 construction, extension and renovation projects for educational infrastructure were carried out. This progress was supported by the acquisition of 1,530 school transport buses and various equipment for students. Concerning the development of rural roads and engineering structures, 20,454 km of roads have been built and maintained. In addition, 195 engineering structures were erected or renovated, contributing to the improvement of infrastructure and access in rural areas.
To conclude, the minister indicated that the program was largely successful in achieving its objectives in terms of spatial targeting, thus filling significant gaps in the targeted regions. Efforts continue to achieve the primary objective of reducing territorial inequalities in these specific areas, drawing inspiration from the new development model under the enlightened leadership of King Mohammed VI.
