The Court of Auditors has released its annual report on its activities and those of the Regional Courts of Auditors for the 2023-2024 period. This report, published in the Official Bulletin under number 7360 bis on 13 December 2024, addresses several areas within the framework of its monitoring of the implementation of major reform projects.
It has thus assessed the status of actions completed and those underway, and identified risks that could hinder the achievement of the objectives assigned to these projects.
In the Water sector, the Court of Auditors has examined the challenges related to accelerating the implementation of major projects to address the risks of water stress.
"The issue of water stress constitutes one of the major challenges facing our country, particularly with the intensification of the effects of climate change and the succession of drought years. To mitigate the impact of the water crisis, particularly regarding the security of drinking water supply and meeting the needs of productive sectors, the National Programme for Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation 2020-2027 (PNAEPI) was launched at the beginning of 2020," the court notes, observing that "the PNAEPI started with a total budget of 115 billion dirhams. In order to guarantee the completion of all its projects and the achievement of the set objectives, this budget was increased to 143 billion dirhams, three years after its launch."
The Programme encompasses the development of water supply through the acceleration of dam construction, the strengthening and securing of drinking water supply, water desalination, and the interconnection of hydraulic basins (83.9 billion dirhams), the strengthening of drinking water supply in rural areas (28.3 billion dirhams), demand management and water valorisation, notably through irrigation water savings and improving the efficiency of drinking water transmission and distribution networks (27.5 billion dirhams), as well as the reuse of treated wastewater (3 billion dirhams), the Court of Auditors recalls.
Regarding the construction of dams, the report notes, the PNAEPI provides for the construction of 21 large dams and 330 small dams. In this sense, with the commissioning of a set of dams whose construction began before the launch of the programme, notably the Todgha (Tinghir province), Tiddas (Khemisset province), Agdz (Zagora province), and Fask (Guelmim province) dams, the total storage capacity has increased from 18.7 billion m³ in 2020 to 20.7 billion m³.
Furthermore, according to data from the Ministry of Equipment and Water, this capacity is expected to increase to reach 24 billion m³ by the end of 2027, an increase of 20%.
In this regard, the Court of Auditors notes that "certain large dam projects whose construction had begun before the launch of the PNAEPI 2020-2027 have recorded delays compared to forecasts, notably the M’dez (Sefrou province), Targa Ou Madi (Guercif province) dams, as well as the reconstruction project of the Sakia El Hamra dam (Laâyoune province)."
This delay is mainly due to the termination of the works contracts concerning them, the report highlights, noting that new completion contracts have been launched for these projects, and that the M’dez dam was filled in February 2024 and the completion of the other two dams is scheduled for 2026.
Regarding demand management and water valorisation, the document recalls that the area equipped with localised irrigation systems reached approximately 794,000 hectares by the end of 2023, representing nearly 50% of the irrigated area nationwide, compared to 43% in 2020 and only 9% in 2008.
However, it points out that the efforts made to modernise collective irrigation networks and promote localised irrigation have not allowed for the stabilisation of irrigation water demand, knowing that the problem of overexploitation of groundwater has worsened.
Furthermore, to bridge the water resource deficit, seawater desalination, which is becoming essential, aims to mobilise 1.4 billion m³ of water per year by 2027. The number of desalination plants has increased from eight stations, with a total production capacity of 46 million m³ per year before the launch of the PNAEPI, to 15 stations in 2024, with a total production capacity of 192 million m³ per year.
In addition, six major desalination projects are currently being implemented, with a total capacity of 438.3 million m³ per year, including the Casablanca station with a capacity of 300 million m³ per year. Moreover, the PNAEPI plans for the reuse of 100 million m³ of treated wastewater per year by 2027, knowing that this volume reached approximately 37 million m³ in 2023, it is further indicated.
Nevertheless, the reuse of treated wastewater remains limited to industrial sectors and the watering of green spaces, while its use in agriculture remains insignificant due to the absence of institutional and legal mechanisms governing cost-sharing between treatment plant managers and farmers, as well as the lack of standards setting the quality of wastewater to be reused in agriculture.
Regarding the interconnection of hydraulic basins, the project to interconnect the Sebou and Bouregreg basins, costing 6 billion dirhams, was completed and commissioned at the end of August 2023. This project is part of the first phase of the programme to interconnect the Sebou, Bouregreg, and Oum Er-Rbia basins, with the launch of the subsequent phases scheduled for 2024.
In addition, the project to interconnect the Oued El Makhazine and Dar Khrofa dams is also nearing completion, six months after its launch. This project, costing 840 million dirhams, aims to secure the drinking water needs of Greater Tangier and to supply irrigation water to the Dar Khrofa perimeter, covering an area of 21,000 hectares.
Addressing the risks that may be faced in achieving the objectives of the country's water policy, the Court of Auditors cites "the worsening of the water situation due to an intensification of climate change, the delay in desalination projects, conversion to localised irrigation, interconnection of hydraulic basins, and dam projects, particularly in areas with high rainfall."
It also mentions the risk related to "the delay in the implementation of the electrical connection project for the transport of renewable energy from the south of the country to the centre and north in order to supply desalination plants with clean energy, as well as the problem of mobilising the necessary financing, and the importance of the costs of treatment, transport, and distribution of wastewater, and the monitoring of water quality."
In view of all these factors, the Court of Auditors has issued a number of recommendations to the various stakeholders. It has thus recommended:
– to the Ministry of Equipment and Water to strengthen the integrated management of water resources by ensuring the preservation of strategic groundwater reserves and encouraging the use of non-conventional resources, notably seawater desalination, the reuse of treated wastewater, and rainwater harvesting, the reduction of losses in water transmission and distribution networks, as well as better protection of dams against siltation, in addition to accelerating the implementation of projects related to the interconnection of hydraulic basins.
– to the Ministry of Economy and Finance to mobilise the necessary funding for the implementation of programmes addressing the challenges posed.
– to the Ministry in charge of Agriculture to accelerate programmes for conversion to localised irrigation.
– to the ministries in charge of the Interior, Equipment and Water, Agriculture, and Energy Transition to develop "Water-Energy-Agriculture" synergies allowing for the convergence of these three sectors.
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