The magistrates of the Court of Auditors have scrutinised the road and public lighting projects within the urban commune of Rabat, as well as the operation of the wholesale market and the slaughterhouses. Several dysfunctions were noted. The remarks concern in particular the execution of the three-year programme for upgrading the infrastructure of the city of Rabat, adopted by the city council in 2005. A programme that provided for the completion of 72 projects over three budget years (2005-06-07) for a total amount estimated at 1.482 billion dirhams. The restructuring and development of the city's roads (major axes, main intersections, and all local roads in all the city's neighbourhoods) accounted for 39 projects, the cost of which was estimated at 748.444 million dirhams. The court highlights the low execution rate of the projects as well as shortcomings in the programme's setup. The absence of the necessary technical and financial studies is pointed out. The studies relating to the said works only took place in 2007, whereas the entire three-year programme was supposed to be executed in full by the end of that same year."
Shortcomings are noted in the technical and financial sizing of the projects, notably the use of expensive sidewalk paving techniques. For municipal road projects, significant and repetitive delays are noted in the approval of contracts, negligence in rainwater drainage works and drainage structures, the dispersion of maintenance works, etc. Regarding lighting, the projects are designed in the absence of set photometric objectives and energy optimisation studies, as well as a global approach aimed at standardising the network within the framework of local contracts.
The Court of Auditors has issued several recommendations to remedy the observed dysfunctions. It is, in the first place, a matter of resorting to in-depth studies for the preparation of large-scale programmes based on a precise diagnosis of the needs of the city of Rabat. Deadlines must be set based on serious studies taking into consideration the human and material resources of the commune. Local officials are called upon to ensure compliance with the programme established as a reference base for the annual programming of projects. Funding provided by external partners must be framed by agreements precisely setting the amounts of contributions and the schedules for their payment. The prior establishment of in-depth technical studies (traffic class, climatic data...) is essential. Furthermore, regarding the wholesale market, which was created in 1974 on an area of 50,000 m2, the remarks relate, among other things, to the marketing outside this market of large quantities of fruits and vegetables, to shortcomings in terms of equipment, to weaknesses in the control at its entrance, and to the insufficiency of controls within it.
The Court thus recommends strengthening, in partnership with security services, controls on sales outside the wholesale market at access points to the capital, at the level of souikas known and listed by municipal services, and occasionally at retail points of sale. Increasing the attractiveness of wholesale markets requires improving their equipment and the conditions for receiving, storing, and selling fruits and vegetables. Controls must be focused on critical points so as not to disperse the control effort and to gain efficiency. Systematic and reinforced controls must also be carried out at loading areas.
As for the slaughterhouses, built in 1956 in the Akkari district, the dysfunctions concern the insufficiency of sanitary and hygienic conditions of installation and equipment. Despite the design problems of the slaughterhouses, the Regional Court considers it useful to establish a minimum of rules to mitigate the risks of meat contamination. Several recommendations focus on compliance with several standards during the design of new slaughterhouses.
The wilaya and the City Council have drawn up a joint response to the remarks of the Court of Auditors. Regarding road and lighting works, local officials believe that the difficulties encountered in the planning, design, and realisation of urban projects stem from objective constraints: an institutional framework specific to local authorities, the special status of the Urban Commune of Rabat, the status of the city of Rabat as the capital of the Kingdom, coincidence with the realisation of large-scale structuring projects, multiplicity of stakeholders...
The officials acknowledge, nevertheless, the accuracy and relevance of the Court's observations both regarding infrastructure works and the wholesale market. They commit to upgrading the market's equipment, the human factor, and its management procedures with the aim of boosting revenues.
Regarding the slaughterhouses, the urban commune of Rabat has tried to transfer them several times "without success" for lack of land with the specific characteristics required by this type of establishment. Upgrading the slaughterhouse structures requires heavy investment that could exceed the construction of new slaughterhouses. A tender document for launching studies has been ready for more than a year. The project for future slaughterhouses has been established by specialised design offices and has provided that these slaughterhouses meet international standards in terms of food hygiene. "For the upgrading of these establishments, funds will be released in order to carry out the necessary development works while waiting for the construction of the new agri-food complex which will include the slaughterhouses and wholesale markets."
-* Weakness in the execution of the three-year programme launched in 2005.
-* Several recommendations from the Court of Auditors to correct the dysfunctions.
