The case of granting municipal plots to privileged individuals in the Agadir commune, outside of any legality, continues to cause a stir. The Agadir public, outraged by the scandalous practices of an elected official, has mobilised to confront the lobby that diverts actions of social interest to handle lucrative deals from which it and its accomplices derive substantial dividends.

The affair, which came to light last week, has snowballed, sparking questions and indignation. The story concerns the plot of land located behind the large mosque in the Salam district, intended, according to municipal urban planning schemes, to become a green space. Recently, the residents of the district in question were surprised by the presence of land intermediaries putting the plot up for sale. That is when the secret was revealed. According to reliable sources, a municipal member very "close" to the president allegedly arranged to transform the plot intended for a garden into lots, titled and sold for between 650,000 and 900,000 DH per lot to municipal executives. An internal investigation was ordered by the Agadir Urban Commune (CU), and 6 executives who benefited from the diverted lots have been identified. Some sources do not hide their deep disappointment at the greed of certain elected officials who will stop at nothing to sabotage teamwork and enrich themselves at the expense of the interests and well-being of the citizens who gave them their votes.

It is against these malpractices that the FDT, the Democratic Union of Local Authorities and the local union office of the Agadir CU, supported by human rights associations, called for a demonstration in front of the Agadir CU headquarters this Monday, 2 February, on the occasion of the extraordinary session of the CU. During the demonstration, which brought together a hundred citizens, including agents and civil servants of the commune, the protesters called for the freezing of the procedure for transferring municipal property to privileged individuals and for recourse to the courts to determine the ins and outs of this land trafficking.

At the same time, in a petition signed by residents and associations of the Salam district, the signatories expressed their indignation that municipal members are involved in this illegal trafficking. While welcoming the position of Tariq Kabbaj, Mayor of the Agadir CU, in defending their interests, the residents who signed the petition asked him to intervene to restore things to their initial order for the establishment of a green space.