Tangier is among the thirteen cities scheduled to be declared slum-free this year. To this end, a race against time has been initiated by all local actors involved in order to achieve this objective by the end of 2013. Especially since Tangier was initially supposed to be declared a slum-free city in 2006. "As a ministry, we are committed with all our partners, notably the local authorities, Al Omrane, and the Urban Agency of Tangier, to eradicate this type of unsanitary housing by the end of 2013. We are all continuing our efforts together for the rehousing and restructuring of the situation of fewer than 500 households still living in slums. This number is insignificant compared to the total population of Tangier," affirms Fouad Hayek, regional inspector of housing, urban planning, and city policy for the Tangier-Tétouan region.

Considered one of the cities most affected in the past by this scourge, Tangier has seen the eradication of around twenty slums over the years, the most famous of which are those of Boukhachkhach and Haoumat Nsara. "It must be pointed out that the first two censuses, carried out in 1989 and 1992, showed that the number of slums had decreased in Tangier. There were also, between 1992 and 2003, the conclusion between the State and its partners of a certain number of agreements for the fight against unsanitary housing," explains Mr. Hayek.

This official wishes to recall that Tangier saw, to this effect, the organisation of its third census in 2004 and the signing in December of the same year of its "slum-free city" contract. "This census made it possible to report at the time some 3,074 households concerned by this contract," says Mr. Hayek, noting that until now "we have been able to deal with the situation of nearly 3,500 households. Which shows that there has been, after the launch and implementation of this programme, an increase in the number of slums."

It should be noted that most slum-dwelling households in Tangier currently live in the two clandestine districts of Ksas in Mesnana and Zaïdiyine in Mghougha, both created after the official 2004 census. "These two districts prevented Tangier from being declared a slum-free city in 2010. The problem of the Zaïdiyine slum is being resolved thanks to the allocation of plots to households, even though they still continue to live on the site. We agree with our partners, within the framework of the new vision for the city, on the need for the mobilisation of land in order to be able, by the end of 2013, to put a definitive end to the scourge of unsanitary housing in Tangier," concludes Mr. Hayek.