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Weekly highlights

Post-earthquake reconstruction

Are we on the wrong track?

T HE large-scale reconstruction rials from the destroyed buildings,
which are of inestimable sustainable
project in the Al Haouz region,
and resilient value, and which will be
devastated by the devastating
earthquake of September 08, seems cleared away to who knows where”,
to be in a “critical” situation. The Na- said Benabdellah.
tional Council of the Order of Archi- For Chakib Benabdellah, “rehabili-
tects has come out of its silence and tation would make more sense, as it
launched a paving stone in the pond. is cheaper, allows families to be re-
“Today, given what we are seeing, housed in the community, and protects
we must neither hide it nor keep quiet the architectural heritage”. Current
about it. The approach taken by the weather conditions and accessibility
authorities does not seem to corres- problems in many hamlets mean that
pond at all to the objectives set out in the reconstruction work cannot get off
the royal cabinet’s communiqué, nor to a good start, said Benabdellah s in
to the expectations of architects with a statement to L’Economistee, who
regard to safe-guarding architectural added, saying: “The Ministry wants
heritage”, said its president, Chakib to move quickly to rebuild. There’s talk
Benabdellah, at a meeting on sustai- of wiping out villages to the ground
nable construction held in Casablanca (Ph. Bziouat) to rebuild new ones. They’re going to
on Thursday November 23. Majesty King Mohammed VI reitera- of Housing is quite different. Today, give people money to rebuild, while
Benabdellah is not hiding his anger, ted his High Instructions for a strong, construction lots are being distributed asking them to comply with seismic re-
and takes aim at the Ministry of Hou- rapid, and proactive response, while by the hundreds to volunteer archi- gulations. This is just not possible. We
sing. “The September 14 press release respecting the dignity of the people, tects, without any prior study by these fear the result will be catastrophic”.
stresses that the reconstruction opera- their customs, and heritage. These are architects of the intervention sites, wit- As far as Ministry of Housing is
tion must be carried out on the basis of clearly defined ambitions for sustai- hout any training of the latter in buil- concerning, silence prevails. Contac-
specifications and under technical and nable and resilient construction”, said ding with local materials, without any ted repeatedly by L’Economiste, Fa-
architectural supervision in harmony Benabdellah. training of the beneficiaries since this tima-Ezzahra Al Mansouri’s depart-
with the region’s heritage, respecting However, according to Benabdellah, will be self-construction. And without ment did not respond to our request. o
its unique architectural features. His “the approach taken by the Ministry taking any steps to recover the mate- Khadija SKALLI

Tourism: In the shoes of foreign investors

T HE clock has already started procedures, onerous formalities, and
ticking in the tourism sector,
inconsistent regulations can deter po-
and this is hardly the time for
the squabbles that are currently sha- tential investors.
king up a large section of the industry.
Morocco is resolutely engaged in a n Economic performance and
race against time, even before 2030, political commitment
the date of the World Cup. Once these key issues have been
Since this extraordinary announce- addressed, investors will be keen to
ment, projects have come thick and scrutinize the country’s economic
fast, programs for the 2030 horizon indicators. Figures on the economic
have followed one another, and one environment, political issues, levels
conference after another has unveiled of education and training, societal and
Morocco’s ambitions. But the voices civic behavior, territories, and lands-
of investors have yet to be heard. Yet capes... will speak louder than words.
they are the spearhead of this movida.
To capture their attention, and quickly, n Watch out for the brand!
a number of proposals have been put The goal now is to mobilize funds to support tourism growth. This funding can come from Negative media portrayals, often
forward by professionals from Dubai, the country’s own funds, from the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Tourism Industry, focusing on conflicts and health pro-
a tourist destination par excellence. as well as from Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) in search of assets suitable for the blems, affect the perception of Africa
creation of new hotel units. (Photo by Bziouat) as a tourist destination. This poses a
n Everything you need to which are perceptions that could cause investors would be frequent changes serious challenge for Brand Africa.
know about the country tourists and investors to lose confi- in tax and land ownership policies. Some of the continent’s countries also
“First of all, they would like to know dence in a destination. They would be just as reluctant to in- often struggle to adopt effective bran-
all about the country”, i.e. everything vest if there were a legal risk hanging ding strategies to position themselves
about the country’s geopolitics, espe- n Discouraging justice and over their investment, especially if the competitively in the global tourism
cially in terms of national or regional administration quality of the administrative service market.o
security, or the risk of terrorist attack, Another surefire deterrent for foreign was not up to scratch. Cumbersome Radia LAHLOU

Friday 1st December 2023