A heated meeting took place this morning at the headquarters of the Kenitra municipality, involving the local office of the National Federation of Café and Restaurant Owners and the municipality’s president. Present at the meeting were the first deputy mayor in charge of administrative police, Idriss Chentouf, the head of the administrative police department, Ahmed Lazhar, the head of local taxes, Omar Larkou, and the head of the environmental department.
The discussions focused on four contentious issues that have sparked widespread debate among professionals, primarily the fees related to waste management, automatic taxation, closing times for businesses, and the chaos stemming from the informal sector. Nourredine Hrarak, the president of the federation, strongly rejected the amounts imposed on professionals by the environmental department, deeming them unreasonable and not reflective of the sector’s reality. He submitted a request to the head of the local taxes department to consider the professionals’ ability to pay, in light of the disparities within the city.
The municipality president responded to the demands and called for a technical meeting to address these issues. Regarding the licensing for coffee shops, Hrarak emphasized the need to respect regulatory decisions and demanded strict enforcement against violators.
The issue of closing times for cafés and restaurants sparked a sharp debate, as Hrarak called for a comprehensive solution that balances the interests of professionals with the comfort of residents, taking into account Kenitra’s status as a coastal and tourist city, along with the significant expansion of the free industrial zone which necessitates some businesses staying open to meet workers’ needs.
Hrarak called for July and August to be treated as exceptional months with special hours while enhancing police patrols to address violations instead of resorting to blanket closures. The municipality president confirmed her commitment to convene a meeting with the federation’s board and local authorities to evaluate the proposals and seek realistic solutions to alleviate the ongoing tension.
