The territorial coaching program, the launch of which took place in the presence of elected officials of local authorities, development actors of the region, representatives of civil society and the economic sector, as well as coach-trainers, is the fruit of a partnership agreement between the council of the Oriental region and the pan-African organization United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG-A), signed last June in Oujda on the sidelines of the second colloquium on decentralized cooperation. This initiative aims to support the council of the Oriental region in the definition and implementation of sustainable support policies for local authorities and in their interventions in the organization of synergies with civil society and all the vital forces with a view to promoting local development.

The Wali of the Oriental region, governor of the Oujda-Angad prefecture, Mohamed Mhidia, emphasized, in a statement read on his behalf, that this memorandum of understanding, which defines the means and rules of partnership between the different stakeholders in the region, comes in response to the expectations of local elected officials who expressed a great interest in benefiting from this experience proposed by the UCLG-A during the summit organized in Dakar in 2012.

Within the framework of the development dynamic that the Oriental region has been experiencing in recent years, and given the new orientations envisaging the expansion of the competencies of elected councils, it is necessary to change old procedures and adapt behaviors and mentalities to the rules of good governance and efficiency that underpin the development of territories, specified the Wali.

For his part, the secretary general of the UCLG-A, Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, noted that Morocco was working, like other African countries, to reform public governance through the policy of decentralization which was enshrined by the new Constitution, pointing out that within the framework of advanced regionalization, local authorities will have greater responsibility in the fields of economic, social, cultural, and human development.

The UCLG-A has, in this sense, put in place a territorial coaching program as a mechanism aimed at supporting local actors and strengthening their skills to mobilize the vital forces capable of promoting the sustainable development of their territories, he added, emphasizing that this experience, the first of its kind in Africa, will allow local stakeholders to master the tools and practices of managing development projects aimed at improving the living conditions of citizens.

A new form of management

The president of the council of the Oriental region, Ali Belhaj, emphasized that the objective of this meeting, which brings together a galaxy of experts and presidents of local authorities, is to set up this program which tends to initiate a new form of management based on dialogue and partnership between local stakeholders with the goal of establishing optimal management of local affairs.