The Consultative Meeting in Khouribga: Between Development Challenges and Outdated Discourses
Yassine Balkajdi – Khouribga
As part of the consultative meeting organized by the Khouribga province, in response to the high directives of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, aimed at preparing a new generation of integrated territorial development programs, this meeting was expected to serve as a fundamental platform for renewing perspectives and envisioning the region’s developmental future through a collective and responsible spirit.
However, the discussions revealed a predominance of narrow political interests in several interventions, which seemed detached from the essence of the subject and the objectives of the meeting. Instead of focusing contributions on formulating practical ideas that enhance local development, some discourses slipped into personal rivalries and political self-interest, attempting to reproduce the same expressions and practices that characterized past rhetoric, which no longer aligns with the requirements of modern development or with the new royal vision based on effectiveness, innovation, and renewal.
In some segments, the meeting transformed into a platform for improvisation and media visibility, rather than a space for responsible collective thinking, negatively impacting the overall discussion quality and weakening engagement with the real challenges facing the region in investment, employment, infrastructure, and social development.
Despite this, one cannot overlook the significant efforts made by the Khouribga province, which provided all necessary conditions for constructive dialogue and sought to involve various local stakeholders in shaping an integrated future vision. However, disappointment was palpable as some figures emerged who had once impeded development in the region, reiterating the same failed discourses that are far removed from the reality and expectations of the people. Today, more than ever, the Khouribga region needs a new elite with a modern developmental vision, acknowledging that the era of empty rhetoric has passed, and that true development is built on planning, accountability, and bold decision-making, not on empty slogans and self-serving politics that have proven ineffective.
