Government authorities in Morocco are accelerating efforts to mobilize lands owned by Soulali communities for investment, and to strengthen their role as a "lever for economic and social development in rural areas"; this was highlighted by official data provided by Abdelouafi Laftit, Minister of the Interior, in response to a written parliamentary question on the subject, concerning Soulali community lands in the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region.
The Minister of the Interior confirmed, in a recently issued response document viewed by Hespress, that "the competent services in the aforementioned region have worked to mobilize lands owned by Soulali communities that possess potential that can be utilized for the implementation of investment projects by public or private actors through calls for tenders or by mutual agreement based on specifications," noting that this includes the prefectures of Salé and Skhirat-Témara, as well as the provinces of Sidi Kacem and Sidi Slimane, and also Kénitra and Khemisset.
According to official data, the prefecture of Salé has a "land reserve belonging to Soulali communities covering approximately 3,000 hectares, mostly used by rights holders for agricultural and housing purposes"; while "a portion of it is used by investors, either for agricultural, commercial, or service purposes through lease contracts."
In implementation of the provisions of Article 30 of Decree No. 2.19.973 regarding the application of the provisions of Law No. 62.17 on administrative guardianship over Soulali communities and the management of their properties, the same government official reported the start of the "process of regularizing the legal status of properties on which investment projects are established in both the 'Sehoul' commune as a first phase and the 'Amer' commune as a second phase."
As for the "integration of properties owned by Soulali communities located in urban and peri-urban areas within the framework of the economic and social development program and scheduling them to host investment projects," the "Interior" services confirmed that "approximately 475 hectares have been surveyed in order to take the necessary measures to mobilize them for the benefit of public and private actors."
Moving to the prefecture of Skhirat-TĂ©mara, which includes 9 Soulali communities owning a land area of approximately 640 hectares, Laftit stated that it "is characterized by potential suitable for hosting various investment projects in different fields; which will enable the promotion of development at the regional level, especially since all properties have land titles," according to the response.
Also, at the level of the Sidi Kacem province, "1,042 hectares have been programmed for the implementation of investment projects, where 384 hectares have been subdivided, and 10 lease contracts have been concluded for an area of 233 hectares," not to mention the "regularization of the illegal exploitation of approximately 3,150 hectares of land owned by Soulali communities."
Agricultural Investment
In turn, the Sidi Slimane province, according to the "interim report on the government's work regarding the mobilization of lands owned by Soulali communities," witnessed the mobilization of an area of 2,296 hectares for agricultural investment, and its division into several phases.
While the first phase aimed at "mobilizing an area of 689.78 hectares through 5 calls for tenders during the year 2021, where 31 plots of land were offered for lease for the implementation of investment projects, resulting in the leasing of 29 plots of land, for the benefit of 'investment projects currently under construction' (at present), the second phase saw the 'preparation of files for the mobilization of 1,424 hectares, which are currently under study for final approval'."
As for the third phase, it is linked to "properties owned by Soulali communities that face a set of obstacles; such as those that are the subject of lawsuits or for which lease files have been opened by mutual agreement," stating that "the Ministry of the Interior's services are currently working to find solutions to the various problems raised regarding them."
The same response included data on the KĂ©nitra province, where the report showed the "mobilization of 6,200 hectares of urban and peri-urban properties for the benefit of public and private actors, as well as the study of 286 lease applications for an area of approximately 7,411 hectares, of which 173 applications were approved by the ministry's services, covering an area of approximately 5,997 hectares, and the disposal of a total of 2,357.34 hectares."
Similar to the rest of the prefectures and provinces of the region, the Khemisset province allocated approximately 1,615 hectares of land owned by Soulali communities for the purpose of implementing 15 investment projects of an agricultural and commercial nature."
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