فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
On Monday, May 12, 2025, the city of Taza witnessed a protest march involving dozens of tenants of commercial waqf (endowment) shops. The march began from a marketplace in the old medina and headed toward the office of the Awqaf administration, denouncing what participants described as the “arrogance and overreach” of the administration in its dealings with them.
The march stopped in front of the Awqaf office, where demonstrators held a protest, chanting slogans condemning what they considered to be “excessive and unjustified” rental increases. They also expressed their rejection of certain articles of the Waqf Code, which they described as “unfair” and incompatible with their worsening social and economic conditions.
In an escalatory move, a number of merchants and artisans closed their waqf shops for 24 hours in protest against recent decisions by the Awqaf administration—most notably the rent hikes—which, according to them, failed to take into account the economic stagnation affecting the city.
The protesters emphasized that these actions are just “the beginning of a protest movement,” warning of further escalation if the Awqaf administration continues to ignore their demands. Among their next steps, they hinted at a march to the provincial governor’s headquarters.
They attributed their protest to what they described as “illogical increases” in rent, in addition to the strict application of waqf laws that they claim “only serve the administration’s interests.” They called for their rental relationships to be governed instead by the general Rental Law and the Commercial Code, rather than a “specialized code that worsens their plight and restricts their rights.”
The merchants also decried the “neglect of the old medina,” voicing frustration over the continued closure and stalled restoration of the Great Mosque, which they saw as further evidence of the region’s marginalization.
Many tenants expressed anger at what they described as the “intransigence of the Awqaf director,” and sharply criticized the behavior of a legal affairs officer, accusing her of “threatening tenants with eviction lawsuits” if they opposed the rent hikes. They also claimed that she exploited the post-COVID financial difficulties of some tenants to initiate eviction proceedings, which have already led to court-ordered evictions, even against tenants who have occupied the shops for many years and had paid substantial sums in the past.
Those affected are now awaiting action from relevant authorities to find fair solutions that protect their rights as tenants and restore balance in their contractual relationship with the Awqaf administration. They are also calling for dialogue and the abandonment of approaches they say “threaten the social and commercial stability of the city.”
Source: Fes News Media
