Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
November 14, 2009

Morocco must involve women in development projects
By Siham Ali 12/11/09

While Morocco's human development projects have gained ground, a recent study found that local efforts could benefit from more participation by women and young people. Morocco's National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) has done a solid job of developing a charity network, but still needs more participation by women, children and local councils, according to a recent report by the initiative's oversight body.

"There is a need to resolve the lack of participation by young people and women in INDH projects," said Rachid Benmokhtar, chairman of the National Office for Human Development, which released the report on Tuesday (November 10th). "How can we involve them [in the projects] if we can't reach them?" Benmokhtar told reporters at a press conference held in Rabat to coincide with the report's release.

Benmokhtar also said that the town-based projects of the INDH, which was launched in 2005 to combat poverty and social exclusion of vulnerable groups, do not suit urban settings, and that similar obstacles are found in rural regions.

To rectify these problems, the observatory's head is calling for "greater imagination" in setting up future projects, perhaps by uniting new efforts around a single theme such as public housing. The report criticised the limited involvement of local councils and community representatives in INDH projects. According to the report, local councils only oversee an average of 14.2% of INDH projects every year. Urban local councils make an even poorer showing, participating in only 8.7% of INDH projects annually.

The observatory is recommending that local elected representatives, especially council chairpersons, attend a training programme on working with INDH projects.

Fatna Lkhail, an MP who chairs the rural council in Arbaoua in the Gharb region, seconded this recommendation, and acknowledged that few local officials and councils involve themselves in INDH efforts. "That's due to objective reasons, particularly the lack of qualified personnel to set up projects, coupled with the very low levels of education among some council chairmen," she said, adding that a critical way to better support communities would be to provide training in these areas.

Lkhail also told Magharebia that, contrary to the report's claims, women and young people are getting involved in INDH projects. According to the MP, her community has created a co-operative to benefit women, and younger women receive the bulk of the benefits.

MP and Istiqlal Party leader Latifa Bennani Smires said more focus needs to be placed on INDH initiatives which also bring in revenue. "You need to bring charities and young people together around major projects, rather than frittering the budget away on small-scale projects which are not viable," she said. Only 13% of INDH projects undertaken from 2005-2008 fit into this category. Smires also said that INDH regional committees, not larger charity networks, should take up the responsibility of launching these projects due to charities' lack of capacity to get the job done.

INDH projects were the object of another government inquiry earlier this year, which found them beneficial on the whole, but needing improvement in terms of sustainability. http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2009/11/12/feature-01
-------------------------------------------------

AFD grants $ 171 mln loan to Morocco to fund development projects.
Paris

French Development Agency (AFD) has decided to grant Morocco three loans worth some 115 million Euros (171 million dollars) to support rural electrification programs, social housing and health service improvement. A sum of 30 million Euros (44.6 million dollars) was granted to the national electricity Utility (ONE) to fund the fifth phase of the comprehensive rural electrification program (PERG), said a statement of the Agency.

AFD said it has assisted ONE on this program since it was launched in 1995 with the aim to generalize electricity before 2010, noting that this new funding will allow for equipping 449 villages (17,800 households).

The French Agency also approved a 50 million Euro loan (74.4 million dollars) to Al-Omrane Development Holding.
The project provides for building over the 2008-2012 period new 600,000 housing units, the same source added.
Another 35 million Euros (52 million dollars) were granted by AFD to the Kingdom to assist a program on regionalization, decentralization and reinforcement of basic health care.

AFD has approved funding for many development projects in many countries, notably Vietnam, Mozambique, South Africa and Mauritius Island.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/afd_grants__171_mln/view
-------------------------------------------------

Wheat production in Morocco may reach over 6 mln tonnes- U.S. Report.
Washington

Wheat production in Morocco could jump 71%, to a record 6.37 million tonnes during the season that started last July, thanks to excellent weather conditions, according to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 2009-2010 Farmers will collect wheat from 2.8 million hectares, down by 130,000 hectares, says the report, adding that the Moroccan imports of wheat in the same period will fall to 2.1 million tonnes.

The USDA notes that the grain harvest during the growing season 2009-10 is estimated at 2.275 tonnes per hectare, while overall cereal production is estimated at 6.37 million tonnes, up from 1.17 million tonnes according to previous estimates.

This year’s harvest is one of the most important that Morocco has ever witnessed, the source says, adding that the Moroccan imports of cereals for 2009-10 are estimated at 2.1 million tonnes. Durum weat import tariffs currently reach 55% and are expected to rise to 80% in January 2010, while soft import tariffs are expected to fall to 90% in the same period, the report concludes. http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/wheat_production_in/view ##########################################################

These postings are provided without permission of the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the identified copyright owner.  The poster does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the message, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

Return to Friends of Morocco Home Page