After hosting the Africities summit in Marrakesh in December 2009, Morocco is working towards decentralisation to help build strong local governments The Africa Report: Morocco is going to host the 5th edition of the Africities summit in
Marrakech in December. What are the stakes?
Chakib Benmoussa: This summit is above all an occasion for the exchange of knowledge and the sharing of experiences between the assembled parties: ministers in charge of local
development, academics, experts and NGOs. For Morocco, South-South cooperation is of great interest. Very often the issues are the same and we can learn lessons from the successes and failures of others.
Today, with the economic
crisis, the world is still finding itself, and it is in need of regulation. The voice of local authorities, often closer to the reality on the ground because they work with the real economy instead of the virtual one, is a voice that needs to be heard.
What has been the effect of the downturn on the financing of municipal authorities in Morocco?
In recent years, budget increases for municipalities have tracked economic growth and so have been quite marked. In 2009 they will also increase, but in 2010 this will taper off. The changes in the communal charter of 2008, as well as those surrounding tax and local financing, have allowed for an improvement of local authorities’ resource base as well as a more rational use of these funds. There hasn’t been an increase in the tax rate, but there has been a better use of the money. In
addition, there hasn’t been full use of the debt facilities
available to cities.
Is this the same across the board?
Between the large cities of the country like Rabat and Casablanca and the smaller, more rural towns, the problems are not the same. This is why we have decided to increase state support. Be it in the construction of roads, electrification or clean-water supply, national programmes have been launched which often imply a contribution from the municipal authority involved, often more than just a symbolic one. For rural roads, the contribution is 15%, and if this contribution is not possible, the government will step in. In his Green March speech of 2008, King Mohammed VI said he wanted to see deeper regionalisation. What does this mean?
The regional authorities were reinforced in 1996 and they now have planning power. Today this needs to be extended and funded – underpinned by a new democratic process. This will happen through the creation of a new commission, which will have a large consultative role. The
debates are around very sensitive areas in governance terms.
With the initiative to give greater autonomy to the southern regions [the disputed territories of Western Sahara], Morocco has established a more advanced
regionalisation plan. Morocco has said this initiative will be carried out in the framework of a definitive political solution to the question of the Sahara, along with all the concerned parties respecting the territorial integrity of the country and its unity.
These two methods can be complementary if the political process under the UN makes progress. But without an accord on the Sahara question, the
regionalisation will happen in a strictly Moroccan-Moroccan framework.
The autonomy initiative has given a number of powers to the southern provinces. Can one imagine this dynamic
applied to the other regions of Morocco?
The general dynamic is a strengthening of the regions – and autonomy is a kind of extreme regionalism. This extreme level will be reserved for the southern provinces, which have a particular historical context. The level of advanced regionalisation will be between the current regionalisation level and autonomy. The question will be to choose where along that line.
Is there not a risk of inequality in the economic development of the regions?
This is what renders decentralisation in Morocco more complicated. We must strengthen the power and funding of different regions while preserving
national unity and safeguarding the principles of solidarity. Equalisation mechanisms (where we top up regions that do not generate enough revenue) should be put in place to support the weakest regions. It is a delicate question which each nation resolves based on the level of maturity of its institutions.
How much is transferred to the provinces of the south? Does autonomy mean the end of state aid?
Autonomy does not mean the end of solidarity. Autonomy means having powers, including the ability to raise revenues autonomously. But in the framework of a unitary state, the solidarity between
regions must be preserved. Today the provinces of the south are not in the formal fiscal system. The resources of local authorities in the southern provinces come from an equalisation mechanism. In addition, for the outlay of infrastructure the state also intervenes through various sectoral programmes. These mechanisms will continue.
The large investments in the southern provinces were done in a framework of catching up, and there was no revenue-generation logic applied.
The regions of the Sahara were largely under-equipped. Today they have reached a level of development comparable to the rest of the country – in some places better, in terms of human development indicators.
Does decentralisation necessarily come with reforms? Has there been resistance?
Decentralisation is necessary and has to be done in parallel. The more we decentralise, the more there will be a transfer of power, and the more there will be the need for the state to be there to guarantee unity. In terms of issues like security, or problems like coordination and synergy between the various actors, decentralisation remains an essential part of new administration in force.
Certainly, it requires an effort for all ministerial departments. His Majesty the King has called for the putting in place of a decentralisation charter. In this he has expressed the need to go in a certain direction and to reinforce the existing process. Over the last months, 13 new provinces have been created. The creation of these provinces will accelerate the decentralisation process and bring the peoples in these areas closer to the decision-making bodies of the state.
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