Preparation of the 2nd National Conference on Advanced Regionalisation
-By Jamal Eddine Felhi
In view of the 2nd National Conference on Advanced Regionalisation, scheduled for the 20th and 21st of the current month in Tangier under the theme “Advanced regionalisation: between the challenges of today and tomorrow”, the Party of Progress and Socialism group at the Souss-Massa Regional Council presented a series of ambitious proposals to accelerate the economic, social, and human development of the region.
The PPS elected officials, Abdellatif Ouammou, Mohamed Laouina, and Larbi Kansi, reviewed, during a consultative meeting organised on this subject on Tuesday in Agadir, the challenges facing Souss-Massa and reported the gaps to be filled in terms of promoting the region's attractiveness, productive investment, combating water stress, transport development, and digital transformation of territorial collectivities with a view to integrated regional development.
Assessing the situation, they recalled that the Tangier-El Jadida axis alone monopolises 68% of national industrial activities, a structural imbalance that translates not only into blatant inequality in job creation but also into an asymmetrical distribution of value added. By way of illustration, the latter reaches 330,000 dirhams per job in the Tangier-El Jadida axis, compared to 160,000 dirhams in the rest of the regions.
Faced with these disparities, the PPS elected officials emphasise the urgency of rebalancing the regional distribution of national industry, a major challenge in the context of demographic change, marked by a progressive decrease in agricultural employment. They insist on the imperative need for the industrial sector to play a driving role by absorbing this surplus labour, while promoting a more equitable distribution of economic opportunities across the entire national territory.
For a diversification of the regional economy
They also emphasise the urgent need to rethink current strategies to equip Souss-Massa with a more balanced and competitive industrial dynamic, noting that the industrial exports of the Souss-Massa region, valued at 4.7 billion dirhams, remain heavily dominated by agri-food industries and represent only 1.3% of national industrial exports. Figures that testify to the scale of the industrial challenge to be met to diversify the regional economy, despite the efforts made over the last ten years.
In this regard, the PPS elected officials insist on the imperative to diversify industrial activity in the region by freeing itself from excessive dependence on agriculture, tourism, and maritime fishing. They advocate for a resolute and ambitious implementation of the Industrial Acceleration Plan, initiated in 2018, in order to better position the region, particularly in the promising market of sub-Saharan Africa.
They also underline the importance of developing communication and logistics infrastructure to ensure the success of the economic diversification of the Souss-Massa region. In the sense that this infrastructure will play a strategic role in its attractiveness and competitiveness at the national and international levels.
The PPS elected officials also highlight the imperative need to stimulate investment in key sectors, such as renewable energies, technological innovation, and industries oriented towards the needs of the local market, which offer significant potential. It is also a question, according to them, of promoting trade and logistics services turned towards the international market, through activities such as offshoring.
Regarding the project to build a dry port in the industrial zone of the Drarga commune, in Agadir, the PPS elected officials also highlight its strategic importance. They believe that it will facilitate port services and optimise export operations by bringing logistics services closer to the main industrial, agricultural, and fishing units of the region. This dry port would thus meet the growing needs for connectivity and competitiveness of companies established in the three industrial zones of Agadir, while benefiting agricultural actors in the provinces of Chtouka-Aït Baha and Taroudant, as well as maritime fishing units in the southern zones.
In parallel with this structuring project, the elected officials also underline the importance of the urban modernisation of the city of Agadir, inscribed in a dynamic of transformation aimed at making the capital of Souss a motor of regional development, while insisting on the urgency of improving transport and mobility infrastructure in the city of Agadir and the surrounding rural and mountainous areas.
For a master plan for digital transformation
Regarding digital transformation, members of the PPS group note the significant delay that the Souss-Massa region is experiencing at this level, despite the progress made in the evolution of the legal and legislative framework at the national level. Faced with this situation, they advocate for the development of a regional master plan for digital transformation, a strategic tool that should allow for the coordination and harmonisation of efforts in favour of a full digitisation of regional institutions and services. In this regard, they call for intensifying initiatives aimed at modernising administrative mechanisms and strengthening technological infrastructure, in order to optimise public services and ensure an overall improvement in the services offered at the regional level.
Concerning the problem of water resources, they believe that the challenges related to water cannot be attributed solely to the succession of years of drought, but that they also find their origin in the structural inefficiency of the agricultural policies in force. The latter mobilise more than 80% of national water resources, while generating considerable waste due to the predominance of traditional irrigation at the very moment when so-called “bour” (rain-fed) lands represent 87% of the total cultivated area.
As for the issue of energy transition, which constitutes a fundamental pillar of the national strategic vision to achieve development that is both global and sustainable, the PPS group insists on the need for the Souss-Massa region to prioritise the development of infrastructure dedicated to renewable energies, while integrating long-term environmental and strategic planning. This approach should be accompanied by a strengthening of research and development, innovation, as well as an increased role for universities and regional research centres. A programme that also includes strengthening partnerships with international entities to benefit from financial and technical support for the realisation of major energy projects.
On the other hand, for the PPS elected officials, the commitment to major territorial reform projects and the implementation of the new development model must imperatively place human development at the centre of priorities. They believe that advanced regionalisation cannot be fully accomplished without a resolute commitment to reducing social disparities, ensuring an equitable distribution of resources, and offering employment opportunities, particularly in remote areas. Improving infrastructure is also crucial to ensure quality health and education services capable of meeting the expectations of the populations.
Organised by the Ministry of Interior in partnership with the Association of Regions of Morocco, the second edition of the National Conference on Advanced Regionalisation aims to evaluate achievements and exchange best practices. Government officials, regional presidents, elected members of communal councils, and experts, as well as Moroccan and foreign political and economic actors, will take part in this important meeting.
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