Activists criticize the continued suffering of earthquake victims in the summer, and simplify their demands to save the victims

Agadir24

Activists and activists in the Civil Coalition for the Mountain denounced the continued suffering of citizens affected by the Al-Haouz earthquake, in six regions of the Kingdom, stressing that these people complain of their inability to return to their destroyed or cracked homes, while others have resorted to migrating to other regions.

Many of those affected still lack shelter and basic services, while infrastructure has been severely damaged, with the affected areas facing major challenges in reconstruction and development, activists added at a symposium organised by the coalition on earthquake victims.

They pointed out that the families live in tents in conditions where the temperature reaches more than 45 degrees, following having lived in them during periods of cold and rain, and this is the greatest suffering, according to them.

The same activists pointed out that civil society provided patchwork solutions such as food and tents, but the stage of state intervention to provide real solutions that respond to the needs of the population witnessed a series of irregularities and mismanagement, as happened during the process of counting those affected, and the absence of communication with the victims and answering their questions.

In light of this situation, those who are part of the Coalition for the Mountain called on the relevant ministerial sectors to speed up the construction process, considering that “it is unreasonable for us to spend regarding a year, and there are many districts whose fate is unknown with regard to the subject of construction, and whether it will take place in the district or far from it.”

In addition, they called for monitoring the prices of building materials, given the unacceptable increases that have doubled in some materials and increased by between 50 and 100 dirhams in other materials.

For their part, the people of the areas affected by the devastating earthquake of September 8, 2023 called on the authorities to re-conduct the census of those affected, given that there was widespread exclusion in obtaining support that affected a number of families.

In addition, they demanded an extension of the period during which those affected would benefit from the monthly support, which is expected to stop next September, given that a large number of those affected have not yet begun building their homes.

This comes at a time when the Prime Minister, Aziz Akhannouch, confirmed on Monday, July 15, 2024, that more than 56,000 families from the areas affected by the Al Hoceima earthquake benefited from the support allocated to rebuild and rehabilitate their damaged homes, with a completion rate of 95 percent.

The Prime Minister stated in a presentation he gave to the House of Representatives on the subject of “urban and housing policy and its impact on economic dynamism and social and regional development” that the number of building permits granted to targeted families amounted to more than 53 thousand permits, representing 90 percent of the population that was counted, in the provinces of Al Haouz, Chichaoua, Marrakech, Taroudant, Azilal and Ouarzazate.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the measures taken to rebuild the areas affected by the Al Hoceima earthquake, as an exceptional event witnessed by the Kingdom, required exceptional mobilization of all the sectors concerned behind King Mohammed VI, in order to overcome the consequences of this natural disaster and contribute to restoring the conditions for economic, social and cultural development for the benefit of families in the affected areas.