Creation of special agency for development of Morocco's southern provinces
Morocco, Politics, 3/6/2002

Morocco's King Mohammed VI on Wednesday announced the creation of a special agency for the development of the provinces of the south and appointed Abdellatif Guerraoui, a former energy and mining minister, as Director-General of the Agency.

"(.) as part of the process meant to provide all the regions of our kingdom with the means for a democratic, decentralized and devolved management of their own regional development, we announce, on this memorable day, our decision to set up a special agency for the development of the provinces of the south, illustrating thus our special care for these provinces," said King Mohammed VI in a speech he delivered in Laayoune, southern Morocco.

The king, who arrived in Laayoune Wednesday morning coming from Dakhla, underlined that he instructed the government to work on setting up this institution, as soon as possible.

He stressed that the programs and projects to be designed by the agency should match the region's realities and the inhabitants' aspirations.

"As we do want the agency-designed programs and projects to be in line with the region's reality and with the inhabitants' aspirations, we expect the panel, which will convene upon our instructions, here in Laayoune in the coming weeks, to translate the regional development plan for the southern provinces into accurate projects and well-defined programs in terms of time and space, financing and assessment," he said.

"The agency should carry on with the significant efforts made so far to equip these regions with basic infrastructure and equipment in terms of roads, ports, housing, electrification and drinking water supply, and also in order to enable these regions to achieve their social development," King Mohammed VI explained, urging the agency to "give paramount priority to the promotion of productive investments, which are likely to create wealth and generate opportunities of stable and decent jobs for the young."

King Mohammed VI stressed the need to "build on the region's natural assets in the mining industry, sea fishing, handicraft, tourism and trade and to invest in the region's human resources, that are so rich in talents, ingenuity, skill and creativity, and that abound in economic potentials and capabilities as well as in ancestral knowledge and know-how."

He urged the government "to settle once and for all the problem of shanty housing, which is prevailing in these provinces" and "to speed up the construction, over a two year period, of six fishing villages, equipped with sea-port facilities and housing and leisure installations as well as the extension of ports facilities."

The king equally urged the government "to devote special importance to stockbreeding, mainly the breeding of camels, and to take into account the local aridity and drought conditions. "We likewise invite the government to make proper use of the assets of our Saharan provinces as a traditional platform in this region for trade relations, mainly with the sisterly neighbor, Mauritania," he added.

"We are confident that the development plan for our southern provinces will fulfill the aspirations of our faithful subjects, who have remained firmly attached to their land, and will cater for a dignified life for those who will return to Morocco, in response to the call from the beneficent and merciful fatherland," he said.

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