Precautionary measures approved by Samir El Yazidi, Governor of Benslimane Province, have resulted in the freezing of 340 applications for drinking water supply permits within the Ain Tizgha commune of the same province.
The aforementioned territorial official issued a memorandum to the head of the concerned commune, including directives to postpone decisions on the mentioned applications until the water situation in the region is clarified, which relies on a system of “Saqayas” (public water fountains) to provide for the water needs of the area's residents.
Applicants for the permits possess legal properties and residences that have building permits, certificates of conformity for habitation, and meet all legal procedures that entitle them to the right to be supplied with drinking water; however, the applications have remained frozen at the commune level under direct instructions from the Governor, who chairs the Water Committee—in accordance with the provisions of Decree No. 2.19.205 defining the composition and functioning of the prefecture or provincial water committee—which meets frequently due to the current climatic situation and the worsening water stress in most regions of the Kingdom.
Miloudi Bouziri, President of the Ain Tizgha Communal Council, stated that the commune received a memorandum directing it to postpone the process of deciding on “individual connection” drinking water supply applications during the current period, until further notice.
In a statement to Hespress, Bouziri explained that the request for individual water supply came in parallel with an existing project for “Saqayas” that secures the needs of the region's residents, stressing that the communal council initially saw no harm in granting permits to individuals on the basis of them having private consumption and paying monthly bills, before this process was frozen based on directives from the Ministry of Interior.
The President of the Ain Tizgha Communal Council added that intensifying permits for individual supply would negatively affect the flow of the “Saqayas”, which is considered a pioneering project covering eight Douars, starting from the main drinking water supply axis of Benslimane.
The same communal official confirmed that this project cost about 1.2 billion centimes to complete, as “Saqayas” were installed along tens of kilometers of connecting pipes, separated by a distance of 250 meters from one another, stressing that the established supply points allow people to obtain their water needs for domestic use only, noting that the fact that some residents received individual supply permits while others did not is explained by them having benefited from these permits before the arrival of the aforementioned memorandum from the provincial Governor.
Those affected by the freezing of drinking water supply permits have demanded urgent intervention from Mohamed Mhidia, Wali of the Casablanca-Settat region, to ensure their right to connect their homes to drinking water, expressing their lack of conviction regarding the justifications of the local and communal authorities concerning the freezing of their applications, especially since they meet the legal requirements related to urban planning.
The affected individuals stressed that such a problem undermines efforts to improve the conditions of the province, which hosts the Grand Stadium of Casablanca, one of the venues designated to host the upcoming “2030 World Cup” events.
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