Amine Idrissi Belkasmi, President of the Majal Federation

The importance of proposing in terms of urban planning and development, a space for professional reflection on the best ways of overcoming the constraints and meeting the challenges facing urban planning in Morocco, a space also for pooling and exchanging experience and know-how between the executives of the various urban agencies, the Federation of Moroccan urban agencies (Majal) is in Morocco a vector for the development of territories and an actor at the service of the latter.

In this interview, its president, Amine Idrissi Belkasmi, comes back on the place of intermediate cities in Morocco and talks about Majal’s ambition to launch with UCLG Africa, during Africities-9, a network of urban agencies and institutions similar in Africa.

“In Morocco, intermediate cities play a central role in the urbanization process”

AFRIMAG : The Africities-9 Summit devotes a one-day session to urban planning. What are the challenges facing Moroccan intermediary cities today ?

Amine Idrissi Belkasmi : In Morocco, intermediary cities play a vital role in the urbanization process. With more than 6.7 million inhabitants, these cities are now home to approximately 33% of the national urban population. They are the place for the redeployment of economic systems and the structuring of links between rural and urban areas, thus offering real opportunities to strengthen equity and territorial solidarity.

The regionalization policy adopted by Morocco in recent years highlights the role of these cities as instruments of regional development, and they are therefore called upon to become real engines of development and factors of resilience in the national urban network.

Aware of the strategic importance of this category of towns in the implementation of the New Development Model, the Ministry of National Territorial Planning, Town Planning, Housing and Town Policy has launched the project to draw up a national strategy for the development of intermediate cities which will, in particular, consolidate the role of these cities in the polarization of territories and propose an appropriate mode of territorial governance as well as support mechanisms, able to guarantee the fulfillment of the international commitments of the Kingdom of Morocco (New Urban Agenda, Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs, etc.)

In order to support this vision, the Urban Agencies are working, with the involvement of all the territorial actors, for the deployment, at the level of these cities, of controlled, inclusive urban planning, generating wealth and jobs, with the aim of enabling these towns to act as a relay and a stimulus for local dynamics, by welcoming new areas for housing, equipment and infrastructure, economic activities, basic services, Hobbies…

AFRIMAG : The main objective of this day is to share experiences in urban planning in Africa. What does Majal intends to share in terms of good practices with urban planning stakeholders on the continent during this meeting ?

Amine Idrissi Belkasmi : For the Federation of Urban Agencies of Morocco – Majal, Africities-9 will be an opportunity to take stock of the progress made within the framework of the African inter-city partnership program launched in Marrrakech during Africities-8 (November 2018 ).

As you know, it is a partnership framework that links several Moroccan cities to cities in other African countries, with the main objective of creating a framework of convergence, sharing and strategic cooperation between the signatory cities around common issues in terms of territorial development and urban planning, as agreed between the stakeholders in the Dakar declaration of April 17, 2019.

As part of this program, Majal and the Urban Agencies provide signatory cities with specific support in terms of technical instruments, institutional mechanisms and regulatory procedures for controlled urban planning and integrated and sustainable territorial development, with the support from UCLG Africa and UN-Habitat.

The fruit of this innovative form of partnership now lies in the launch of four projects in the cities of Dakar (Senegal), Yaoundé (Cameroon), Abomey-Calavi (Benin) and Rufisque (Senegal), thanks to the contribution the Moroccan Support Fund for decentralized cooperation of local authorities managed by the Ministry of the Interior, with financing of 7 million DH representing 60% of the total cost of the projects.

Africities-9 is now a good opportunity to share this experience with all the cities in Africa, but also to present the achievements, the contribution and the contribution of the Moroccan Urban Agencies, in order to allow the implementation of the New Urban Agenda at the scale of the territories of Africa.

AFRIMAG : Your federation is going wider internationally, particularly in Africa. What about your partnership ties with other African counterparts ?

Amine Idrissi Belkasmi : Openness to the international market has been a lever for strategic action for Majal since its participation in the Habitat III Summit (Quito, 2016). Through this openness, the Federation positions itself as an actor that contributes significantly to the implementation of the New Urban Agenda through the promotion of spaces for dialogue and consultation on urban issues, and the exchange of best practices in this area, particularly among African countries.

In this context, Majal works to make city diplomacy a favorable framework for reflection, with a view to making available to African partners the experience and expertise of Moroccan Urban Agencies in the field of territorial planning.

To this end, Majal is working with UCLG Africa to launch, during Africities-9, a network of Urban Agencies and similar institutions in Africa, with the main objective of promoting the creation of these institutions at the level of African cities. This network will aim to structure the inter-city partnership in Africa and facilitate exchanges between urban planners. It is a response to be provided to the major constraints facing urbanization in Africa, under the effect of a significant deficit in the tools for supervision, support and governance of the urban development of cities.