فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
The Minister of National Planning, Urban Planning, Housing, and Urban Policy, Fatima Zahra Mansouri, announced the government’s intention to expand the successful new approach to eliminate tin shacks, which has achieved remarkable success in the prefecture of Skhirat-Témara, to include Greater Casablanca. This step aims to provide decent housing for more than 62,000 families living in unhealthy conditions.
During the oral question session at the House of Councillors the day before yesterday, the minister affirmed that “the pace of completing the program of shantytown eradication will be accelerated, aiming to address 120,000 families within the next five years in various regions of the kingdom.”
These efforts come within the framework of the national program “Cities Without Shantytowns” launched by King Mohammed VI in 2004, which aims to improve the living conditions of 270,000 families living in tin shacks.
Minister Mansouri pointed out that the pace of eliminating tin shacks has witnessed significant acceleration in recent years, with the number of beneficiary families increasing annually from about 6,200 families during the period 2018-2021 to about 18,600 families during the period 2022-2024, an increase of threefold.
The new approach adopted in the prefecture of Skhirat-Témara has proven its effectiveness in improving the living conditions of more than 20,000 families, prompting the expansion of the experiment to include other areas suffering from the spread of tin shacks.
The Ministry of Housing adopts an innovative new approach to enhance social housing, based on fundamental principles aimed at strengthening partnerships with the private sector. The ministry seeks to achieve this by providing necessary incentives to attract investments in social housing projects.
The approach also includes allocating sufficient budget by the government to finance the program, in addition to providing all forms of necessary financial support to beneficiary families. The ministry also pays special attention to providing support and guidance to beneficiary families through rehabilitation, training, and guidance programs.
In a related context, the minister emphasized the importance of mobilizing and clearing public land to provide the necessary land for building social housing projects, contributing to the effective and efficient achievement of the program’s goals.
The national program “Cities Without Shantytowns” faces some challenges, the most important of which is the increase in the number of counted families living in tin shacks, reaching approximately 465,000 families by the end of March 2024.
This increase affects the pace of program implementation, as it has only succeeded in improving the living conditions of 344,000 families out of the counted 465,000 families since its inception until the end of March 2024, while 41,000 families have benefited from improving their living conditions during the current government term.
Despite these challenges, Minister Mansouri confirms the government’s determination to continue implementing the program and expanding its scope to include all areas suffering from the spread of tin shacks.
The minister calls for concerted efforts from various stakeholders, including the private sector and civil society, to achieve the program’s goals and improve the living conditions of families living in tin shacks.
Source: Fes News Media
