2024-07-19 16:53:11
Responding to a central question in the House of Councilors as part of the monthly monitoring session on the theme: “Program for reducing territorial and social disparities”, Akhannouch affirmed that the results of this program contributed to a qualitative improvement in the territorial upgrading of the targeted communities, stressing that in 2016, 241 communities classified in the category of priorities 1, 2 and 3 moved to the level of priorities 5 and 6 in 2022, bringing the number of communities with all basic services, from 502 in 2016 to 743 currently, an increase of 48%.
The head of government indicated that the impact of road investments also concerned the inhabitants of urban areas, after the completion of road construction and maintenance projects serving the entire population (rural and urban), noting that the road projects should contribute to increasing the accessibility rate in rural areas to 90% by the end of the current year.
In this context, Akhannouch noted that the measures to open up areas through the construction of rural paths and roads have played an important role in reducing the time to access health services and educational institutions, as well as in opening up agricultural circles and tourist sites. These measures have also given new impetus to the development of non-agricultural economic activities for the benefit of rural families, thus strengthening their social stability.
The government’s main concern, Akhannouch continued, remains increasing the number of beneficiaries in the education sector, by upgrading the necessary infrastructure, including boarding schools, accommodation centers, canteens and school transportation, with the aim of raising the quality of public schools and improving the level of students in rural areas.
This approach has helped increase the school enrollment rate in rural areas, particularly among girls, reaching 60% in the targeted areas, an increase of 15% compared to 2017, in addition to the 16% reduction in the time needed to arrive in class.
Regarding the hospital supply in the targeted areas, Akhannouch welcomed the results of the program, stressing that the projects for the construction of health facilities and the acquisition of ambulances and mobile medical units have significantly contributed to improving access to and the quality of health services by 98%, with a significant drop (-59%) in the neonatal mortality rate.
Similarly, the head of government noted, the drinking water connection projects have reduced the distance and time needed to obtain water, respectively, by 81% and 82%, in addition to a tangible improvement in the quality of drinking water by 95% at the level of individual connections and 65% at the level of fountains.
Akhannouch noted in this context that the projects carried out have created more than 120 million working days and 343,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Akhannouch finally considered that the program constitutes a successful model of integrated management and an example to follow in organizational and institutional matters, particularly for development projects relating to the territory.
The head of government highlighted, in this regard, the good practices that played a major role in the effective implementation of this program, emphasizing the adoption by partners, at the regional level, of a governance framework that strengthens the principles of advanced regionalization, as well as the adoption by partners and other regional stakeholders of a broader participatory planning methodology, based on efficiency. It is also, according to Akhannouch, the establishment of an institutional framework to strengthen communication and the exchange of information between partners, via the information system for the development of rural areas and mountainous regions.
Akhannouch stressed in this wake that the attention paid to the rural world stems mainly from the instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, like the events linked to the Al Haouz earthquake, which caused damage in several provinces, recalling that the Sovereign had taken important decisions, then implemented by the government, within the framework of the interministerial committee responsible for the emergency program for the rehabilitation of disaster areas.
Thus, the number of beneficiaries of financial aid will reach 50,000 at the beginning of January 2024, Akhannouch said, stressing that these are the beneficiaries of the monthly emergency financial aid intended for affected families and those of the direct financial aid of 140,000 DH intended for completely destroyed houses, and the financial aid of 80,000 DH to cover the rehabilitation work of houses that partially collapsed.
2024-07-19 16:53:11