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Al-Mansouri Confirms Expansion of Digitalization and Launch of New Platforms for Managing Urban Agencies
Fatima Zahra Al-Mansouri, Minister of National Land Planning, Urbanism, Housing, and City Policy, has affirmed that non-material management will become a reality in the housing sector. She highlighted ongoing efforts to achieve comprehensive digitalization, particularly following the success of the “Licenses” platform, and announced plans to launch a new platform aimed at improving management within urban agencies in the future.
Al-Mansouri explained that this direction will alleviate the administrative burden, emphasizing that service delivery to citizens will be facilitated through the establishment of representations under regional urban planning and housing agencies. This approach recognizes that these agencies possess a holistic vision of the specificities of each region and are capable of identifying actual needs and the necessity for additional representations.
These statements were made during a meeting of the Interior, Local Authorities, Housing, City Policy, and Administrative Affairs Committee at the House of Representatives, held yesterday, which focused on voting on amendments related to Bill No. 64.23 establishing regional urban planning and housing agencies.
The Minister pointed out that the transfer of responsibilities is contingent upon the decision to establish the representation, whereby powers are delegated from agency officials to the relevant representation.
The draft law states that each agency’s territorial jurisdiction corresponds to that of the relevant region, as defined in applicable legislative and regulatory texts, with the agency’s headquarters located within the territorial jurisdiction of the province or region that serves as the center of the region. The project also allows for the establishment of agency representations within one or more provinces, whenever necessary, after the concerned agency’s board approval.
Al-Mansouri discussed the amendments proposed by opposition parties and some majority components, which stressed the need to ensure spatial justice, bring agency services closer to citizens, and ensure a smooth transfer of responsibilities.
The Minister emphasized that the board of directors, when deciding to establish any representation, concurrently delegates the necessary associated competencies.
Regarding amendments that referenced Casablanca as a model, given its vast size and numerous localities, Al-Mansouri clarified that the headquarters of the regional and urban agency remains an institutional space attended by both the Wali and the president of the region. This justifies, according to her, maintaining the headquarters within the economic capital.
For his part, Abdel-Samad Hayker, a member of the Justice and Development Party group in the House of Representatives, called for a clear legal provision to establish territorial representations in every province, rather than leaving it to the discretion of the boards of directors. He argued that such a provision guarantees spatial justice and brings administration closer to citizens.
On the issue of competencies, Hayker stressed the need to clearly define the powers assigned to representations in a written text, warning against diminishing their purpose if established without granting the necessary competencies. He pointed out that some officials sometimes refuse to delegate essential powers, necessitating legal regulation of these competencies to avoid any interruptions.
