Royal speech delivered Monday evening
Morocco, Politics, 8/21/2001

Morocco's King Mohammed VI delivered Monday evening a speech on the occasion of the 48th anniversary of the Revolution of the King and the People and on the occasion of Youth Day, marking this year the sovereign's 38 birthday.

Here follows an unofficial translation of the royal speech:

"Grace be to God, May Peace and Blessings be upon the prophet, his kin and companions

Dear People,

Our celebration of the anniversary of the Revolution of the King and the People and of Youth Day revives in us the moving memory of the national struggle and the everlasting epic, that of the revolution waged by the King to defend the freedom of his people, that of the revolution of a people, ready to sacrifice itself for its King, our venerated grand father, His Majesty King Mohammed V, may God rest his soul in peace.

This celebration also makes us think, with respect and pride, about the "Supreme Jihad," whose torch was taken up by our August Father His Majesty King Hassan II - may God rest his soul in peace- to build up a modern State of the rule of the law and institutions, in the frame of a constitutional and --as he was keen on-- social Monarchy and to set up the basic structures to secure the kingdom's development.

Since God the Almighty entrusted us with the sacred mission to guide you, we have determinedly decided to follow the right and judicious path drawn by our venerated grand father and father, raising the goal of economic and social development to the rank of "Supreme Jihad," and granting utmost importance to human development, of which we have made the foundation and finality of our doctrine of governing.

The commemoration of these two outstanding events is rich of teachings and values, prompting us to show, in the economic and social "Supreme Jihad" -where struggle against the manifestations of social deficit holds a prominent place-a lofty spirit of solidarity and responsibility and a total dedication to the sacred mission befalling us.

We, therefore, deemed it judicious to seize the opportunity of this commemoration this year, to ponder together, thoroughly and daringly, on means of struggling against one of the most shocking symptoms of social deficit. It is question namely of unhealthy housing. We have noted during the past two years its hideous aspects when inquiring on the spot about our faithful subjects, in the north as in the south, in the east as in the west of the kingdom.

Our venerated father -may God rest his soul in peace- who used to grant a keen interest to the issues of housing, equipment and urbanism, had devoted to these sectors tireless efforts that earned him to be cited in History as the Builder King. Taking over him, your first servant continues to grant utmost priority to low-cost housing in national policies, both when initiating the projects of the State and of State-owned public institutions, and when putting the financing of low-cost, decent housing on top of the programs of the Hassan II Fund, with the aim to encourage initiatives by the private

sector and by the civil society in this realm. Nonetheless, the complex and multi-dimensional character of this problematic and the immensity of means required are all factors that contributed to exacerbating the problem of unhealthy housing, in addition to the failure of the bodies entrusted with fighting unhealthy housing, which did not fulfil their responsibility in this respect. Actually, there are some 770,000 families, i.e. more than four million persons, who are today living in shantytowns and in lodgings that do not meet legal requirements. As an instance, nearly 50 percent of shantytowns nationwide are located on the coastal axis extending between the city of Kenitra and the city of Safi.

Illegal lodgings are concentrated, at a rate of more than two thirds, in the cities of the wilaya of Tangiers, Tetuan, Agadir, Rabat-Salé and oujda. Unhealthy housing is still growing at the rate of 40,000 lodgings per year, i.e. 40 percent of the overall lodgings built nationwide.

This evolution might have the most pernicious impact on the balance of our social fabric and the healthiness of our environment. It might also hamper development efforts made by public authorities and by the Hassan II fund for economic and social development to drain to our cities and villages productive investments, mainly in the realm of tourism, to which we grant a special interest, at a time architecture and urbanism beauty constitutes one of the factors enhancing the attractiveness of this sector in terms of investments.

Therefore, in a bid to avoid that the broadening of the scope of the prerogatives of local communities and the perspective of the electoral dates in our country be a propitious opportunity to dangerously exacerbate this phenomenon, duty requires that one sees to the strict implementation of the law, to avoid that these prerogatives be misused or diverted and that the elections be used to clientelism and electioneering ends, where the aim is only vote-catching, by delivering undue construction licenses or by implicitly encouraging unhealthy housing.

In line with the spirit that dictated the orientations we have issued, while appointing a group of new Walis, the elected representatives, in charge of local communities, must also see to a sound implementation of the law, in matters of struggle against unhealthy housing, and to show a spirit of initiative and realism, through a quick anticipation of the phenomenon, instead of putting up with its constraints, and through putting an end to the laxity of some local communities and tutorship authorities, which do not fully shoulder their responsibilities in the field and overlook, in drawing plans and schemes, to grant to low-cost housing the importance it deserves.

In a bid to avoid that illegal and anarchic housing and urbanism put at stake our development plans and in order to be able to take up the big challenge, that of eradicating such a housing, we urge our government to start the drafting of a legal, regulatory frame for a well-defined draft national program, meant to eradicate the unhealthy housing that exists at present.

This draft should provide for the necessary sanctions and repressive measures to prevent the persistence and proliferation of unhealthy housing and define, precisely, the responsibilities befalling each actor in this realm, mainly local communities, urban agencies, urbanism inspections and regional, provincial, prefectural and local authority agents, as well as individuals, the housing department and its affiliated institutions and all the bodies responsible for delivering licenses and authorizations, checking the conformity of lodgings, struggling against unhealthy housing and promoting the real estate sector. This draft should enunciate, with all the required rigor and transparency, the civil, penal and financial sanctions to punish illegal practices or failure to fulfill duties in this field.

Given the mission entrusted to them in this matter, local communities are called to put on top of their development plans, low-cost housing programs and projects as well as the necessary funds to finance such projects. This legal and regulatory frame should also consecrate the personal legal responsibility of elected representatives; as well as the financial responsibility of local communities, for any neglect or complacency vis-à-vis any attempt to make of part of their territorial constituency a den of unhealthy housing.

Ingenuity is needed to find sustainable and reliable new financing sources, so as to support the accomplishment of these duties with the needed financial resources, in order to back up the funds allocated, in the frame of the State general budget, to the Housing Department and the affiliated bodies, as well as the contributions by the local councils and by the Hassan II Fund for economic and social development to the financing of low-cost housing programs.

We are convinced that the adoption of partnership formulas, as part of local housing and urban development plans designed in coordination with all competent bodies, will lead to the eradication of unhealthy housing propagation.

We are also endeavoring to face up this big challenge, through proximity actions, by inquiring continuously and on the ground about the situation of all regions and of all social layers of our Dear Homeland and by assessing on site the commitment and resolve of officials to meet this considerable stakes-bearing challenge.

Dear People,

The concomitance of the marking of the Throne, Youth and the Revolution of the King and People Days and the return to their homeland and to their families of Our faithful subjects living abroad is for Us a source of joy in view of the affection and solicitude we have for this dear category of Our people. These feelings were lively and concretely reflected in the welcome that We had the joy to give them, personally as they were returning to their homeland. In this regard, we are happy that they are increasingly choosing to visit their Homeland and that this influx concerns, in addition to the first generation, the second and third generations. Thus, the number of visitors grew by more than 10% compared to last year. We also laud the symbolism underlying this affluence in terms of attachment to the Homeland and trust in its present and future.

Out of concern to consolidate this strong communion, We have endeavored to implement a general, integrated and coherent policy likely to tally the mutations and aspirations of our community abroad and improve the performance of the bodies, institutions and associations and hoist them to the level of the vital stakes that immigration represents for Morocco's development, modernization and external radiance.

At the diplomatic level, this new policy seeks to bring diplomatic and consular services closer to the places of residence of our faithful subjects abroad, in order to better serve them, defend their rights and preserve their dignity, solve problems they could face in the host country and fructify the emergence among them of a dynamic elite, in political, scientific, cultural and sports fields so that this elite be able to endeavor for the service of their country's causes.

At the economic level, new mechanisms are needed to encourage the investment of remittances -of which we hail the sustained increase- in productive projects and in national development.

Regarding cultural realms, it is a must to consolidate the teaching of Moroccan culture, with all its components, preserve the moderate Muslim identity and set forth an innovating and modern information and communication policy.

Regarding coherence and integration characters that we seek to lend on institutions taking care of the affairs of Our faithful subjects, We have issued Our high instructions to reconsider the structures, missions and operating modes of the Hassan II foundation for Moroccans living abroad, in a way to make it include in its priority actions the diligent settlement of administrative and judiciary disputes for Our community, and the extension of legal counseling to preserve their rights and protect their property, in coordination with public national and local authorities. Thus, it would be possible to supply them information and counseling, which would spare them problems and legal procedures that can be avoided provided that a judicious use is made of services and information they obtain.

This institution also needs to re-focus its mission in a way that would consolidate the radiance of national culture in host countries and deepen consultation and partnership actions with the legal and credible associations representing expatriates and open, before them -as We wish- the way for participation at the highest level in national institutions. Therefore, we would have gathered conditions to guarantee the continuity of their links to their Homeland.

Meanwhile, and owing to the efficiency of the Mohammed V foundation in its solidarity actions, We have seen to it that this institution caters for humanitarian and social aspects of the transit, welcome and return operations.

Dear people,

While we are rightfully proud of these potentials and promising wills for the perfection of the construction of a democratic and strong Morocco, it is also our duty to honor the memory of the valiant heroes of resistance, the dedicated fighters and the pioneers of this founding endeavor, on top of them Our venerated Grand Father and Father, Their Majesties King Mohammed V and King Hassan II, may Go rest Their soul in peace. We should also draw the teachings of our national History, and derive from it the needed strength and inspiration to build the future in trust, hope and enthusiasm.

We pray the Almighty to continue to bestow on the Dear Morocco the blessings of symbiosis prevailing between the Throne and the people so that this communion remain the inexhaustible source wherefrom we draw our strength and our unity, in order to achieve more accomplishments and more gains and secure to Our loyal people, in all its components, optimum conditions for its radiance in pride and dignity.

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