Redalinho
July 31st, 2006, 01:35 PM
Royal Speech - January 9th 2006[Morocco admits past mistakes, lays foundations for prosperous future]
Marking the end of the mandate of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER), the reformist monarch hailed in a nationally televised speech the findings of the said commission.
Reiterating his orders to publish IER's final report, the Sovereign said Moroccans should take lessons from history, to avoid future repetition of past mistakes.
“In addition to preserving this part of our heritage in the nation's collective memory, we must all of us draw the necessary lessons from it, in a way that will shield our country from a repetition of what happened, and enable it to make up for what was lost,” the King said.
He also stressed that forgiveness is one of the key values needed to gain sincere reconciliation.
“The sincere reconciliation we have achieved does not mean we are putting the past behind us, for history is ever present in people's minds. Rather, this reconciliation is in keeping with the divine injunction which says: “So overlook (any human faults) with gracious forgiveness”, he asserted.
“It is a collective forgiveness which is likely to bolster the in-depth institutional reform under way, one that should enable our country to free itself from the blemishes of past civil and political rights abuses,” he added.
The IER, a 17-member independent panel set up by the King in November 2003, was tasked with probing three decades of human rights abuses, including killings, disappearances and torture, between 1960 and 1999.
It dealt with 16,000 cases, of which more than 9,000 will be eligible for compensation, and resolved the fate of 593 missing persons.
The King's decision to set up such a commission, which reported back to him after a series of investigations and opening of mass graves around the country, including inside the notorious Tazmamart prison in the south, was the first of its kind in the Arab world.
Though the findings of the IER were painful, the King said they would help the country move ahead with social reconciliation and political reform.
The King said he was charging the Consultative Council for Human Rights (CCDH) with ensuring the implementation of the recommendations of the Equity and Reconciliation Panel (IER) which called on the state at the end of November to apologise for the abuses and end impunity for those responsible.
Hence, in keeping with the King's overall perception of human rights, as well as his strategic outlook advocating integrated and harmonized public policies, a Board, composed of eminent scholars and experts as well as a scientific commission and ad-hoc groups, was entrusted with preparing a comprehensive study on the outcome of 50 years of human development as well as the prospects for the future.
The report shed light on the handicaps which hindered the development of Morocco and its citizens during the half century that followed the independence of Morocco in education, health, infrastructure, economy, human rights, and politics. The report has also drawn conclusions and recommendations to build a new, prosperous Morocco.
This study will eventually lead to a broad-based, constructive debate on clear, distinctive projects for the Moroccan society.
”The task of finalizing and implementing these projects, and of reflecting the will of the people, lies with the nation's constitutional bodies, political institutions, trade unions and NGOs,” the King stressed.
The Monarch wanted this address to be future-oriented in order to promote dignity-based citizenship and renew the pledge to implement the major, ongoing project of achieving human development.
For that, the King said “we need to muster the tremendous resources of our young generations, to facilitate wealth-generating projects, and to promote creativity in the sciences and the arts, inside as well as outside Morocco. Our ultimate objective is to build a society characterized by accountability and equal opportunity.”
Since his accession to the throne, the King has always been concerned with the human development and the prosperity of his nation.
He has introduced essential reforms and initiated important projects which have enabled the country to make significant accomplishments with respect to consolidating democracy, enhancing the rule of law, broadening the scope of freedoms, promoting the rights of women and children, and addressing the needs of impoverished segments of the population.
After visiting various regions of the Kingdom to get first-hand information about his people's living conditions, and after careful consideration, HM King Mohammed VI decided to launch a large scale programme that would transform the lives of a great many Moroccan families throughout the Kingdom: The National Initiative for Human Development (INDH).
This innovative move falls within the framework of the King's vision for building a society based on the principles of political democracy, economic efficiency, social cohesion and hard work, in addition to the encouragement of all citizens to make full use of their potential.
Politics of Morocco takes place in a framework of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, whereby the Prime Minister of Morocco is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives of Morocco and the Assembly of Councillors. The Moroccan Constitution provides for a monarchy with a Parliament and an independent judiciary.
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Aícha
August 2nd, 2006, 12:22 PM
The King traveller: 72 000 km traversed in two years! Since September 2004, it furrowed all Morocco: 50 visited cities and localities, more than 500 launched or inaugurated projects.
How the projects are retained? Slides of the circuit.
Followed building sites, controls with the improvist, visits incognito, the persons in charge are on the alert.
We are in September 2005. Whereas Morocco still approaches the re-entry weighed down by the estival torpor, King Mohammed VI, traverses the country to him. Sometimes it is a new stopping to be inaugurated, sometimes a center of formation for prisoners, sometimes a signature of conventions to be sponsored. September 5 of this year, therefore, the Sovereign is in Marrakech. Two days later, it is in Fnideq, the other end of Morocco which it will be. The following day, it marks its presence with Mdiq the launching of several projects in the habitat, the infrastructures, or of an economic nature. After a passage by Tétouan, three days and 400 km further, it is in Casablanca that it takes its districts on September 13. In four days, it will launch or inauguera ten projects before going in Mohammédia, in the same objective.
September 19, it is in Meknès that it lands for a small week. There still these are the six projects which will profit from the royal attention. The 26, it is in Oujda, the 29, at the end of 1 300 km of tour, it makes its entry with Guelmim. Eleven projects relating as well to the social one, the habitat as education and the woman are with the menu. In one month, therefore, he will have visited nine cities, will have supervised forty projects and will have traversed the trifle of 3 600 km, that is to say more than the length of the Moroccan coasts.
And that lasts since its establishment. During these two last years, the rate/rhythm accelerated. Between the beginning of September 2004 and mid-July 2006, Mohammed VI will have furrowed all the country on several occasions. 72 000 km traversed and approximately 500 ceremonies between launched building sites, inaugurated achievements and signature of conventions. That without counting the visits returned to associations, prison co-operatives, establishments, hearths of girls...
One the third of the projects relates to the infrastructures
500 projects and signatures of convention in two years. Of which nature are they? The third comes under the field of the infrastructures. Normal, being given the broadth of the needs that knows the country. The other third milked with projects of social nature: socioeducational center for the blind men, hearths for girls, protection of the handicapped and poor children, given on level of hospital and centers of health... It should be said that with the launching of the INDH, the building sites open are numerous. Lastly, the last third is made up to a great extent of projects of social habitat, small economic units or of educational centers, the culture (libraries) or the inauguration of places of worship (mosques) occupying a relatively marginal place.
A reliftée tradition, ceremonies light
What animates the Sovereign? "Actually, in the history of Morocco, the kings always furrowed the country of the kind, underlines the historian Mohamed El Ayadi, who goes up further while affirming than in the beginning, i.e. before colonization, the sultans, at the following day of their access to the Throne, undertook, made military forwardings to subdue the rebellious tribes and to raise the taxes. With the establishment of the central State, inherited protectorate, the objective became different. It was primarily a question of maintaining or of reinforcing the bonds with the population ". While succeeding fire Mohammed V, Hassan II had renewed this tradition by transforming it into ceremonial of communion with the people. As it was also a question of symbolizing the advent of new Morocco, the King took care to mark his visits by inaugurations of great projects.
Mohammed VI maintained the ritual. With this difference close Hassan II "had gone until the identification, by adopting for each visit a costume, a way of being, a setting in particular scene", explains the political economist Mohamed Tozy. It is not the only difference. For an ex-adviser of Hassan II, this last "had as a practice to inaugurate only the great projects like the stoppings and ports. Moreover, these ceremonies were accompanied by a heavy protocol, generally requiring the presence of the whole of the members of the government and the notabilities of the area. With Mohammed VI, it is all the opposite. According to a wali, "the number of invited people is limited to those in direct relationship to the project, that is to say the ministers concerned, the local authorities, the actors of the city and some representatives of the civil company".
Large building sites and small co-operatives on an equal footing
Ceremony light? "Rather effectiveness, corrects the wali. Under Hassan II, it was not possible to inaugurate more than one project per day, whereas currently, it sometimes happens to the Sovereign to supervise in one day four or five projects ". Typical example, the visit of the Sovereign with Zagora, February 4, 2005. During the same day, it will have chaired the signature of 14 conventions on the socio-economic development of the area, launched several social projects, followed presentations concerning the creation of a hearth of girls and two female co-operatives, before inaugurating the new road station of the city. Another more recent example, last 12 July, with Al Hoceima, Mohammed VI is enquis programme of space handing-over on level of the province before distributing keys of apartments to disaster victims of the seism of February 2004. A little later in the course of the day, it made in the same way in Beni Bouayach. The day will be enclosed by the visit of a pilot village to the douar Aït Abdelaziz.
All things considered, the King does not hesitate, contrary to his father, as well to mark his presence the large projects like the motorway Marrakech- Agadir, the wearing of Tangier Med, that to visit a rural co-operative miniscule at the fine bottom of the Atlas. One thus includes/understands how, during two last years, the office plurality of the projects reached the number of 500.
But how all that organized is? Knowing that the King pushes simplicity until visiting the buildings of smallest associations, everyone would be tempted to ask for its share of royal presence.
The royal cabinet, passage obliged to include the visit in the diary of the Sovereign
The selection of the projects passes in fact by a well ground circuit. Sources: ministries and local authorities. In forecast of a royal visit each of the two actors submits the projects which it considers most interesting - inauguration, launching of building site... - either directly with the royal cabinet for the first, or at a commission concerned with the Interior for the seconds, the whole accompanied by a card by project. "Often, estimates Adil Douiri, Minister for Tourism, they are joint proposals between wilayas and ministries."
Not important, the charts of the projects must imperatively include/understand very precise information on the time of launching. "It happens that the royal cabinet asks for more details to us", pays Karim Ghellab, Minister for the Equipment. Precision brought by a wali: if the royal cabinet acts as filter, "it is indeed Its Majesty in person which chooses, in the final analysis, the projects, and which adds with the list some building sites to be visited". Of course, there is project which is impossible to circumvent, from their size, like Tangier-Med or the installation of banks of Bouregreg, but not only these. "the project is appreciated according to its size, its technical importance, technological, or its social impact. Sometimes, the set of themes of the visit weighs in the decision. Example, in these times of INDH, the projects with social vocation are likely more to profit from royal solicitude ", explains a wali.
A thing is sure: so that a project is adopted, it is necessary that it became ripe. Phase of realization, times, budget, financial arrangement, all must be controlled. "It is necessary to present reliable projects at 100%, that wants to say that the land one, the financing and the promoter of the project are known. It is only when one controls these three factors which one can present a file ".
But, even with such a Draconian selection, is one sure to see the project visited by the King? Not, still it is necessary that its starting coincide with the displacement of the Sovereign in a given place.
Quid then of the projects from which launching or the inauguration would come to be delayed while waiting for the royal visit? Questioned, of the ministers and walis advance that, contrary to a spread idea, one does not delay the projects for reason of royal calendar. Karim Ghellab brings a technical explanation: "the royal cabinet takes care that the process of exploitation is not blocked. But, being public working premises, for example, they should be known that between the moment when the order of service and the beginning of work are given, one four months period ago of preparation, which leaves margin. The Sovereign can thus come to launch the building site, knowing that the effective starting of work will only take place later. Conversely, it may be that work starts but that the Sovereign carries out launching only a posteriori. Essence is to be transparent on top. It is necessary that the Sovereign is informed ". According to a wali, launching can occur after the beginning of work.
It happens that launchings are done after the beginning of work
It arrives as sometimes as one puts the mouthfuls double by making coincide the inauguration of a project with the presence of the Sovereign. Example, one month before the last visit of the Sovereign in Casablanca, the authorities of the city requested the Habitat to put a real project on the list of the "inaugurables". The project, which was in two months of its completion, will have seen its work accelerated to be ready the D-day.
In short thus, to be able to claim with the sponsorship of the Sovereign, the project must justify of an unquestionable interest and to be ready to be launched or inaugurated because, walis and ministers all are formal on top, Mohammed VI badine not with the subject. Karim Ghellab tells: "When Its Majesty comes to inaugurate a project, it has already an idea on its broad outline. It raises technical questions systematically. In the case of a launching of building site, the presence of the Sovereign is far from being an act purely ceremonial, it acts of a true public meeting of technical work, where one must be ready to answer all the questions ". It is thus not astonishing that ministers and local authorities make the turn of the building sites the day before of the royal visit.
This kind of precaution is all the more important as the Sovereign is known to return to the places which it inaugurated before. Thus, at the time of its last visit with Al Hoceima, it made a point of traversing in the car the section of the Mediterranean by-pass ranging between this city and Nador, of which it had launched work in 2003, and gave its appreciation on work achieved to the persons in charge for the ministry concerned. Ahmed Taoufik Hejira, Minister for the Habitat, are particularly attentive as for the follow-up: "the Sovereign has a very good memory, it knows the name of the shantytowns by heart and, at the time of certain operations, it does not fail to recall that it already visited the building site".
Being given the dynamics of real promotion engaged by Morocco these last years, the number of projects relating to the habitat, inaugurated or launched by the Sovereign, is particularly high. Solution chosen by the department of supervision, the recourse to a engineering and design department deprived to supervise the times and the costs of realization of the projects launched since the beginning of the reign of the Sovereign.
Often also, the King, visits some in an area and without warning the persons in charge concerned for them, will enquérir visu of the state of progress of the work or preparations concerning a ceremony envisaged the following day. Thus it has supris, last 19 April, the organizers of the international Living room of the agriculture of Meknès by visiting the stands the day before of the official opening which it was to chair. Previously, underlines Hassan Aourid, wali area of Meknès, "it had benefitted from it to make, at the wheel of its car, the turn of some projects inaugurated within the framework of the INDH, in September 2005". Another wali abounds in this direction: "Sometimes, the Sovereign disappears during two or three hours without it being known where it goes. It is only thereafter that we are informed ".
These surprise visits, and overall the very important presence of the Sovereign on the ground, naturally generate an increased mobilization of the persons in charge for the projects concerned. It is thus understood that the weight of the royal, official visits or not, is certain. But, beyond the fact that ministers and walis must be able to ensure the realization of work, the impact of the rounds of the King on the ground is differently more important.
Initially, the persons in charge for a project must be able to bring an explanation constantly, which supposes a rigorous follow-up of their share. "a royal visit, it is like an examination, you have the date, and its cases should be been familiar with. It is necessary to prepare with all the possibilities. Its Majesty can call at any time ".
The royal visa helps to resolve the conflicts between administrations
Then, the fact that the King launches a project often resolves conflicts between administrations. "When the Head of the State is present, that allows you booster rocket of the projects which could have taken much more time", a wali is delighted. It is necessary to benefit from it to announce that, sometimes, it precisely presents projects difficult or blocked to be able to advance the things thanks to the royal support. It is clear that, between the position of Finances, the Fields when they are grounds, of the urban Agencies for the authorizations, the thousand and one difficulties which delay a project disappear from the point of view of a royal visit and in front of the obligation to agree quickly and to produce results. The most significant example is that of the airport of Anfa. It is Mohammed VI in person who made the decision, in July 2005, to close it and affect the 360 ha which it occupied with the urbanization. "Without that, the thing would have all bonnement be unthinkable, brings back an actor of the city. Think-therefore, the airport is used by the army and the latter would never have yielded on top, putting forward the sedentary considerations ".
Another impact and not of least, mediatization of the projects. Where the newspapers devote a paragraph, where televisions are satisfied with banal information, a project inaugurated by the King is the detailed explanation object, of a broader cover. "Two consequences with that, affirms Adil Douiri: on the one hand, such a gesture gives to the speakers of the private sector a vision long-term, a visibility, and translated a will to promote a given sector. For us, the public support of the Head of the State is an engine which brings the speakers deprived to work with the government. In addition, the other administrations, nonconcerned directly by the projects, are brought to collaborate when one makes them the request of it ".
In the final analysis, one could say that the overflowing activity of the Sovereign is a catalyst for the advance of the many building sites opened here and there in Morocco during last years. Some do not see however the thing of the same eye. It is the example of Mohamed Tozy, for which the royal visits is certainly accompanied by an important follow-up and brings much things, but "it also acts to see what that costs in terms of mobilization, and of immobilization. They also expose the "irresponsible" side or "not very responsible" for the administration, when one sees the eagerness with which communes, the communities start to do their work with the approach of the visit of the King ". Let us admit that this opposition to progress is real, that would like to say that, without royal visit, no project would be carried out in the long term neither as regards times, nor in term of cost, which is obviously not always the case. Mohamed Tozy puts the exceptional side also ahead such events. "That the King conceives its work thus is a thing, it is perhaps its way of controlling. It is true that that has a positive consequence, the things start to move, it is an obviousness, but, at the same time, it poses a problem of cost and a problem of mode of existence of the institutions which are some share decredibilized insofar as that gives the feeling that everyone works for the King ". One can share this point of view partly since the whole of the actors contacted by the Life éco stressed the fact that a royal visit pushes to make more efforts, which does not encourage a change of mentalities. But let us not forget that, for any project, a multitude of speakers is mobilized. It is enough whereas one of them slows down so that the machine stops. In this direction, and to keep the same image, the royal visits allow the wheels carosse to turn at the same speed.
X-ray
The longest stays in the same city
The Sovereign seldom remains in a city more than three or four days. On the other hand, when its program includes visits in the area, therefore inevitably of the projects to launching or the achievements to be inaugurated, it lengthens its duration of stay. Example, the visit of Ouarzazate and its area (Zagora included/understood) in 2005, which was spread out of January 25 at February 6 included, is 12 days; that carried out in Tangier and its area in June of the same year, and which lasted 13 days, or that of Agadir and its area in May 2005, and which lasted 16 days. One year later, the Sovereign paid another visit in Agadir which lasted, it, 13 days. For these long visits, the diagram is always the same one. The King takes his districts in a great agglomeration and made return tickets in the course of the day to visit the surrounding localities. During two last years, estival stays put aside, the greatest number of successive days that Mohammed VI passed in a city is 20. It was between March 27 and April 17 in Casablanca. To finish, let us announce that Tangier had right to 13 days in June 2005, then 9 days in July 2005, and 9 other days in January 2006, whereas in Agadir, the Sovereign remained 16 days in March 2006 then 13 days in May of this year. Folds back had its batch of long stays with 16 days, also in May 2005.
Diplomacy
Voyages abroad: 23 countries visited in two years
In spite of a charged program, the Sovereign visited more than 20 countries from September 2004 with today. In the majority of the cases, it is within the framework of rounds or stopovers towards a destination. Thus, in November and December 2004, it carried out a tour in South America which carried out it of Mexico to the Dominican Republic, while passing by Brazil, Peru, Chile and Argentina. Between the end of February and mid-March 2005, turned African with visit in Gabon, Burkina Faso, Senegal and to Mauritania. March 11 of the same year, it attended in Spain the commemoration of the attacks of Madrid, then paid a visit flash in Paris before going the 21 of the same month to Algiers to take part in the 17th top of the Arab League. April 25, 2005, it goes to the Plain Arab Emirates before starting an official visit in Singapore. July 13, it pays a visit in Niger. November 24, 2005, it will pay a visit of friendship in Bahreïn before starting an official stay in Japan. With the return, it will make a hook by Saudi Arabia to attend work of the 3e extraordinary session of the OCI, then will go to France for a few days. In February 2006, new African tour, in particular in Gambia, Congo, Gabon and democratic République of Congo (DRC).
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