Following the severe weather conditions that have affected the Kingdom of Morocco over the past two months, particularly in the Gharb plain and Loukkos, His Majesty King Mohammed VI has instructed the government to roll out a Ksh 42 billion (equivalent to MAD 3 billion) major aid and support programme for affected families and populations and to take the regulatory measures required in such circumstances.
In this regard, the Head of Government has issued a decree declaring this extreme weather a catastrophic event and the most affected communes of the four provinces (Larache, Kénitra, Sidi Kacem and Sidi Slimane) disaster areas, a press release from the office of the Head of Government says.
According to the same source, the government has set up an aid and support programme with a projected budget of three billion dirhams, based on a careful and in-depth assessment of the situation on the ground and a precise evaluation of the economic and social repercussions of these extreme weather conditions.
It focuses on the following axes:
– Aid for rehousing, loss of income, rehabilitation of affected homes and small businesses, and reconstruction of collapsed homes, for a total amount of MAD 775 million.
– Aid in kind and for the reinforcement of emergency interventions on the ground,in order to meet the essential and immediate needs of the population, amounting to MAD 225 million.
– Aid for farmers and livestock breeders amounting to MAD 300 million.
-Investments for the rehabilitation of roads and hydro-agricultural infrastructure,
as well as for the rehabilitation of basic networks, amounting to MAD 1.7 billion.
His Majesty the King has also issued His High Instructions.
to the government to ensure that this programme is conducted in an exemplary, swift,and responsible manner, enabling citizens in the affected areas to return to normal living conditions as soon as possible, the press release points out.
The exceptional weather conditions experienced by the Kingdom caused flooding of over 110,000 hectares and led to the displacement of nearly 188,000 people in the provinces of Larache, Kenitra, Sidi Kacem, and Sidi Slimane, the same source concludes.
