Address of the Speaker of the House of Representatives in Fifth Parliamentary Forum of Regions Given on His Behalf by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Rep. Khadija Ezzoumi

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Honorable Speaker of the House of Councilors,

Esteemed Head of the Government,

Esteemed President of the Economic, Social, and Environmental Council,

Esteemed President of the Moroccan Regions Association,

Honorable Representatives and Councilors,

Ladies and gentlemen, each in your name and capacity,

         Allow me first to express my pleasure in taking part in the proceedings of the Fifth Parliamentary Forum on Regions, organized by the House of Councilors in partnership with the Economic, Social, and Environmental Council; the Moroccan Regions Association, the Moroccan Association of Presidents of Councils of Prefectures and Provinces, and the Moroccan Association of Presidents of Communal Councils, and to which you have chosen the theme: “Regions: A key actor in promoting integrated and sustainable development.”

         On this same occasion, I am pleased to congratulate the honorable Speaker of the House of Councilors on the regular organization of this Forum and to extend to him our heartfelt thanks for inviting us to take part in its proceedings. This Forum has become an annual event dedicated to discussing and analyzing several questions related to territorial development and spatial justice, with the participation of numerous stakeholders, actors, and officials concerned with territorial and development matters in our country.

         Esteemed ladies and gentlemen,

         As I start this address, I would first like to stress the importance of the theme of this Forum, given the major attention granted by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah glorify and assist him, to regional development and spatial justice. In this regard, His Majesty noted in his speech to the representatives of the nation on the opening of the First Legislative Session of the Second Legislative Year of the Tenth Legislative Term on October 13, 2017, “Regardless of how thorough and full-fledged it is, a development model will remain limited in scope if it does not comprise effective mechanisms that allow for evolution at local and regional levels.

For this reason, I have been calling for the full implementation of advanced regionalization to be speeded up because that system provides solutions and fulfills social and development expectations in all our regions.”

In light of this orientation, it appears that ameliorating territorial attraction requires the elaboration of a strategic vision that renders regions territorial units that participate actively in the development process, attract investments, and utilize the economic development opportunities offered by regional territories while working on enhancing their investment competitiveness within the scope of a spatial justice that makes integrated and sustainable development a goal to which aspire all the regions of the Kingdom.

         Esteemed ladies and gentlemen,

         The theme “Regions: A key actor in integrated and sustainable development" is a timely and priority theme, given that it sheds light on the role and position of regions in achieving regional development under a strategic vision of comprehensive development that involves regions in the development effort of our country. In this respect, we must note that the Kingdom’s 2011 Constitution, in the second paragraph of its 143^rd Article, granted regions, as a territorial authority, the first position amongst the other territorial authorities, making them an active partner in the integrated and sustainable development process. Article 80 of Organic Law 111.14 on regions confirmed this positioning by outlining: “Within their territorial area, regions are entrusted with the missions of advancing inclusive and sustainable development through organization, coordination, and monitoring.”

         The entrenchment of the regional aspect of the development plans is one of the major bets of the State’s regional policies that include the advancement of public investment as a major lever for development and the most efficient tool to achieve economic take-off and decrease the disparities between the prefectures and provinces of the Kingdom, intending to attract investments and attain sustainable development. On this basis, Framework Law 03.22, operating as an investment charter, was created to achieve several State objectives in promoting and encouraging investment.

         Esteemed ladies and gentlemen,

         In order to implement the advanced regionalization project, as one of the Constitutional principles on which is based the territorial organization of the Kingdom of Morocco, according to the Kingdom’s 2011 Constitution, several laws have been enacted in relation to regions and the amelioration of their investment attractiveness and competitiveness, namely: Organic Law 111.14 on regions, Law 47.18 on the reform of the Regional Investment Centers and the creation of Unified Regional Investment Committees, Law 46.18 amending and supplementing Law 86.12 on public-private partnership contracts, Framework Law 69.19 on tax reform, Law 55.19 on the simplification of administrative procedures, Law 76.20 on the creation of the Mohammed VI Investment Fund, Framework Law 50.21 on the reform of public institutions and enterprises, and Framework Law 03.22 operating as Investment Charter, in addition to the implementation of the National Charter of Administrative Decentralization by virtue of Decree 2.17.618 of December 26, 2018.

         These legal texts are legislative projects that accompany the developmental dimension of regions and form structural reforms that have positively impacted the integrated and sustainable development of regions through encouraging regional investment projects with a view to increasing investments on the regional level. However, despite this progress, today's practice proves that we still need to deploy further efforts, particularly in defining the relationship between the State as a key actor in development and regions as territorial units expected to lead regional development.

         Esteemed ladies and gentlemen,

Investment in the Kingdom of Morocco is based on a strategic vision that makes the State a key actor in economic and social development, whenever it is a matter of public investment, just as it makes regions an essential actor in regional development through private investments in a way that regions participate in the economic dynamism of the Kingdom in order to achieve a regional development that relies on spatial justice, considers its peculiarities, and utilizes its characteristics, following a national strategy that makes public and private investments a lever for comprehensive development and a key start to increasing the gross domestic product.

In order to achieve this goal, regions are called upon today to assume their prerogatives, encourage investments, utilize opportunities and capacities, and provide a regional development offer based on successful national investment that leads to achieving territorial complementarity between regions and decreasing spatial disparities.

         There is no doubt that investment is a challenging and risky act, which requires regions to consider the scarcity of natural resources, particularly water and energy, in their investment projects. It also requires them to provide financial resources, ensure their thoughtful governance during the implementation of projects, and wisely choose the human resources tasked with the good implementation and follow-up of projects. Regions must also remain wary in choosing and implementing projects, particularly in drafting the regional plans for territorial development and the regional development programs, considering that the regional and territorial distribution of public investments is a key lever for development and contributes to ameliorating the regional business climate.

        Esteemed Ladies and gentlemen,

         To conclude my concise address, I would like to reiterate my sincere thanks to you for inviting the Speakership of the House of Representatives to take part in the proceedings of this Fifth Parliamentary Forum on Regions, with the hope that the participants would achieve conclusions and recommendations that can reinforce the role of regions in advancing integrated and sustainable development, in a way that uplifts the level of human and spatial development, that has always been the subject of stress by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah protect him.

May Allah help us achieve the good of our country under the wise leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah glorify and assist him.

Thank you for your keen listening.