MEDI1TV Afrique : Rapport de la Cour des comptes sur la gestion hydrique au Maroc - 17/12/2024
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00:00Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this episode of Questions d'Actu, a new
00:17alarming report from the Court of Auditors on water management in our country.
00:22And the observation is as clear as day that the chronic water crisis would not be entirely
00:29imputed to the whim of heaven.
00:31It is also the result of a cumulative delay and a variety of malfunctions.
00:36According to the Court of Auditors, the construction work of six dams, for example,
00:40is a delay in relation to the forecasts of the national strategy.
00:44It is also taken up by the magistrates of the Court, the non-respect of the schedule
00:48planned for the implementation of the project of the desalination station of Casablanca,
00:53which was to be launched initially in 2010, but whose call for a demonstration of interest
00:58was launched only in 2022, in addition to the non-implementation of the desalination
01:02project in Seydia, which was to be launched in 2015, according to the Court of Auditors.
01:08On the other hand, the launch in 2022 of a feasibility study of a desalination project
01:13of sea water in Nador was scheduled.
01:14It should be noted that this is not the first time that the Court of Auditors has already
01:18sounded the alarm on the management of the water crisis.
01:21Since the launch of the National Programme for the Supply of Drinking Water and Irrigation
01:26in 2020-2027, several reports of the Court have analysed the management of water resources
01:31and highlighted delays and malfunctions.
01:33Among the last recommendations of the Court of Auditors, we will first note the concretisation
01:40of the management plans for the water shortage in the concerned regions,
01:44while ensuring that the priority is given to the supply of drinking water for the population
01:49and affecting the rest of the reserves available for irrigation, and this, of course, in coordination
01:57with the Department in charge of Agriculture.
01:59The report also recommends finalising the elaboration and, above all, the publication
02:03of the application texts of the Law 36.15 relating to water.
02:08And since we are talking about law, I have the pleasure of welcoming on the set two
02:11questions of action tonight, the Professor of Law at the University of Marseille de Rabat,
02:14also a political scientist, Professor Mustapha Sahemi, good evening.
02:17Good evening.
02:18And, of course, we are going to talk about water with an international water resource expert.
02:22He is based in Rome.
02:23Thank you for joining us.
02:24Professor Mohamed Baza, good evening.
02:27Good evening, Madam.
02:28Thank you for your invitation.
02:29Thank you for accepting it.
02:30So, Professor Baza, far from any scepticism or any form of negation, we are halfway through
02:36the term of the National Plan for Supply of Drinking Water and Irrigation, which ends
02:41in 2027.
02:42What are the major advances in this National Plan, or at least in the achievement of the
02:48objectives of this National Plan for Supply of Drinking Water and Irrigation?
02:51As you have indicated, the program has made significant progress.
02:56It has been able to achieve a lot of things and I think that the most important thing
03:01is that it has been able to prevent a crisis of drinking water from happening to Moroccan
03:07citizens here and there in Morocco.
03:11It is an extraordinary result from the point of view of the supply of drinking water, including
03:18with a certain number of tanker trucks, which is made up of several hundred tanker trucks,
03:27two desalination stations, large desalination stations, which were first carried out by
03:34the OCP, which is a very good thing, so two desalination stations, and then other stations
03:39carried out by the concerned parties, so the Ministry of Water, the Ministry of Agriculture,
03:45etc., Dabra Agadir, and then Fosima, with a little delay for both, etc.
03:53And then we have on the 18 dams that were programmed, of which 10, 15 are still late,
04:00we have three that have been carried out and that have come into effect this year, and
04:05they have increased the storage capacity by 656 million cubic meters, and if we look at
04:14December 5 of this month, the effective reserves of these three dams, these are Agdes dams
04:22in the region of Ouarzazate, Kdoussa dams in the region of Darachiriya, and Hdarl dams
04:32in the region of Tetouan. So, the reserve of these dams on December 5 of this month
04:37was an effective reserve of 223 million cubic meters, which is not negligible.
04:43And so, there has been a lot of progress, a lot of achievements that have been made
04:48thanks to the efforts of the concerned parties. Nevertheless, there is a certain number of delays,
04:54as you have noted at home, and which has been noted by the agency you have spoken about,
05:02and which we will perhaps talk about later.
05:08Professor Schimi, already for the report 2022-2023, the institution in charge of the control of public accounts
05:15had criticized delays in the construction of dams, of hydric infrastructure,
05:21the low performance of the distribution networks of drinking water, and the absence of external control
05:24to verify the data of these networks. So, once again, the Court of Auditors points out the delays
05:31in the construction. There are delays, and there are really challenges related especially to the acceleration
05:36of the implementation of large construction sites to deal with hydric stress.
05:40I will answer this first. The former president of the Court of Auditors, Mr. De Soto,
05:47made this public statement one day, saying how much he regretted that the public authorities
05:53did not take into account sufficiently the reports and recommendations of the Court of Auditors.
05:57The Court of Auditors is in its role. In its role, it is therefore, in terms of the issue of water,
06:05it is to point out the actions that have been carried out by public policies,
06:11but also the identification of what it calls the risks that can hinder the implementation of objectives.
06:19So, the positive part, the half-full glass, if you allow me, is still the fact that there is a strategy,
06:27a national water strategy, which is based on a number of sites,
06:33essentially three large sites. The national water plan, the first site, the second site,
06:39the plan to fight floods, and the third site is the preservation of water quality.
06:47There are achievements now. We have capitalized on a number of things in terms of mobilization
06:55in terms of water policy. For example, we now know better the potential and the hydric resources,
07:06because it is a work that has been done in recent years.
07:10You know better, but not totally.
07:12Yes, but it is important. It is important. There is a lot of work that has been done
07:16by the concerned administrations, departments.
07:18There is also, as my colleague pointed out, a securitization of supply.
07:24He points out that it was a firm recommendation of the Sovereign, a year ago,
07:28which said that it was absolutely committed to not only the regular supply of drinking water
07:34for citizens, but also to more than 80% of supply in the rural world.
07:40It is important as a strategic axis.
07:44And then there is the priority of non-conventional resources.
07:48We will certainly come back to that.
07:50Now, the strategy.
07:52The strategy implies that a certain number of measures are taken to deal with the risks
07:56that are raised by the Court of Audits.
07:58The first risk, of course, is the fact that there are limited resources.
08:04So we have to deal with this situation.
08:08I remind viewers that in 2000, we had an annual consumption per inhabitant of 1,000 m3.
08:19If I go back further, in 1965, it was 2,000 m3.
08:23In 2023-2024, we are around 600 m3 per year.
08:27We are in an accentuated water stress situation.
08:31And we are the best placed, alas, in the list of the 25 countries
08:37that suffer from this water stress.
08:39So it is extremely important for development policies.
08:43I add, of course, a number of recurring problems.
08:47I was going to say structural.
08:49The problem of flooding.
08:51We have dams, but there is a flood rate that is important.
08:55It has been evaluated by the Court of Audits at 1 billion m3 per year.
08:59That is, we have dams, but there are not many things that are put in place
09:05for flooding, that is, deposits.
09:07And so it is as much water as less.
09:09I also add that there are delays, of course.
09:13This was raised by my colleague.
09:15There are laws, but there are missing texts.
09:17Texts that are of interest.
09:19We will come back to these texts.
09:21Yes, there are things, but there are still so many things to do elsewhere.
09:27Professor Bazard, what are, according to you, the financial or administrative obstacles
09:34that hinder the implementation of projects
09:36within the framework of this National Supply Plan
09:40for drinking water and irrigation,
09:42including interconnections between hydraulic basins?
09:48Well, I would like to come back a little
09:50to the fact that what the Court of Audits has done,
09:54there are others that have also done it before.
09:58The Royal Institute of Strategic Studies,
10:00the Moroccan Commission of Foreign Residents,
10:03the Economic, Social and Environmental Commission, etc.
10:09And they are right to do it.
10:11They are right because not only is the situation worrisome,
10:15but the situation is alarming.
10:19But of course, as you have indicated,
10:21there are also reasons, sometimes reasons for delay.
10:24I will note the particular case, for example,
10:28of a company that went bankrupt.
10:30And there, you have certainly heard
10:34of a dam construction company
10:36whose owner is now in prison.
10:40And so, these contracts had to be redone.
10:43So, a delay in construction contracts, etc.,
10:46which is due to the fact that a company has made the account.
10:53There is also the provision,
10:58the availability of all the employees
11:00who need these projects.
11:02Sometimes the employees may not be available.
11:07But there is, it must also be recognized,
11:09that there is laxity,
11:11especially to start the work
11:13since the emergency program was launched.
11:15Laxity on whose part?
11:17Professor Baza, laxity on whose part?
11:20You should specify, if we are talking about laxity,
11:22you are talking about who precisely?
11:24Well, laxity, it can be parts,
11:26I am not aware of what is going on,
11:28it can be workloads,
11:30it can be workloads.
11:32So, if, for example,
11:37there are reference terms, normally,
11:39there is a charge sheet,
11:41there must be a follow-up,
11:43first, the work must start on time.
11:45For the Casablanca station,
11:47there was at least two years of delay.
11:49And I, during these two years,
11:51I have not stopped saying that
11:53this delay will be very difficult to catch up with
11:56and that it is absolutely necessary to start it.
11:58I repeat the same thing for the Tangier station.
12:00Tangier is a very large agglomeration
12:03where there is a lot of demand,
12:05a high demand
12:07that cannot be satisfied
12:09with what is available
12:11and what resources we have,
12:13we would need a station.
12:15There is also the fact that
12:17some works are underestimated,
12:20so some projects are underestimated
12:23in terms of time
12:25because they are grandiose projects,
12:27particularly, for example,
12:29for the transfers.
12:31Well, the first transfer,
12:33it was relatively easy,
12:35from a distance of 67 km
12:37on a flat ground,
12:39but the others that are still waiting
12:41to be launched,
12:43and that's what I can't understand.
12:45The one that was given
12:47by His Majesty's instructions
12:49recently,
12:51already in August, I think,
12:55to transfer water
12:57from Laucos
12:59to the Morbea basin,
13:01it is still waiting to start,
13:03as well as the second tranche
13:05of water transfer
13:07from Cebu
13:09to the Marrakech region
13:11and to the Morbea basin, etc.
13:13So there are a number of reasons,
13:15but we don't know exactly
13:17what is happening
13:19because it can also be said
13:21that funding is not available.
13:23Yet,
13:25when we talk about funding,
13:27Professor Baza,
13:29in the case of Casablanca,
13:31what has also delayed
13:33is the availability
13:35of renewable energy
13:37because it is absolutely necessary
13:39that it be renewable energy,
13:41which energy was not always
13:43and may not always be available,
13:45but this does not prevent
13:48funding to be made.
13:50It is an excuse
13:52not to have started the work
13:54a little while ago.
13:56Well, the funding.
13:58You talked about funding,
14:00I wanted to ask you about it,
14:02but I will turn to Professor Schimi.
14:04We are talking about a global budget
14:06that started at 115 billion dirhams,
14:08which is very important to say.
14:10Of course, these are very budgetary
14:12projects
14:14with some,
14:16sometimes even surprises,
14:18with the increase in raw materials prices
14:20due to inflation,
14:22but this budget has been revised
14:24to increase it from 115 billion dirhams
14:26to 143 billion dirhams,
14:28but it is not always enough
14:30according to the magistrates of the Court of Audits
14:32who recommend, since we have 10 minutes
14:34left for this program,
14:36to find other funding.
14:38Professor Schimi,
14:40how does the law frame
14:42this part of funding
14:44First of all,
14:46the mobilization
14:48of budgetary resources is important
14:50with a progression
14:52of 115 billion dirhams
14:54to 143 billion dirhams,
14:56which is important,
14:58it is almost 20%.
15:00Another observation,
15:02the state's budgetary resources
15:04are limited,
15:06and this is a reality principle
15:08because there are other projects
15:10that are mobilizing financial resources,
15:13especially social projects.
15:15It has to be fair,
15:17it is a government
15:19that is constrained
15:21by a certain number of charges
15:23and commitments,
15:25especially on the social level,
15:27you know,
15:29which is a huge project,
15:31also on the health level,
15:33on the level of education, etc.,
15:35and I leave aside social protection.
15:37The possibilities
15:39of mobilization of budgetary resources
15:41are limited.
15:43There is an option
15:45that may not have been sufficiently
15:47used by the government,
15:49which is the participation of the private sector.
15:51This is the famous PPP.
15:53Yes, either a public-private partnership,
15:55or we shift
15:57towards sensitization
15:59in the direction of private operators
16:01so that private operators
16:03have the idea
16:05and the feeling
16:07that it is a profitable sector,
16:09in the psychology of our businessmen
16:11and our operators.
16:13Investing in the irrigation sector,
16:15etc.,
16:17there are sectors that are considered
16:19as more speculative.
16:21This is also a big job
16:23that must be done.
16:25I add to that
16:27that there is also,
16:29to face this hydric stress,
16:31there are strategic elements
16:33that are in place.
16:35I think, for example,
16:37I also mention
16:39some achievements
16:41in terms of regulation.
16:43This is important.
16:45The legal framework is important.
16:47Yes, but the legal framework needs an application decree,
16:49Professor.
16:51I was coming to that.
16:53What strikes me
16:55in the governance
16:57of this Cabinet,
16:59and of previous Cabinets,
17:01is the gap between texts.
17:03We have laws,
17:06in particular the decree,
17:08that will come later
17:10when they are not
17:12completely evacuated.
17:14I can mention dozens of laws
17:16where there are not yet
17:18all the application texts.
17:20There is also an interesting advance,
17:22which is tariffing.
17:24Tariffing per tranche.
17:26Per tranche is important.
17:28I also add
17:30to the assets of this government,
17:32which by the way is subject
17:34to the UN's subsidy
17:36to preserve
17:38the price of water
17:40and electricity.
17:42This is a charge
17:44of more than 1 billion dirhams per year.
17:46Another aspect
17:48of the assets
17:50of this government
17:52in terms of regulation
17:54is the delimitation
17:56of the perimeters.
17:58I also add
18:00the rule
18:02of the polluter and the payer.
18:04This is important.
18:06Then there is the problem
18:08of integrated management.
18:10Another problem
18:12that has no financial impact
18:14is the coordination
18:16of the governmental action.
18:18In particular,
18:20the administration of water.
18:22Many actors are involved.
18:24It is important that there is centralization.
18:26There are also
18:28conflicts of interest
18:31that prevent
18:33between
18:35the landowners
18:37and the tariffing
18:39of water.
18:41Between the non-respect
18:43of the regulation
18:45on the underground wells,
18:47more than 80%
18:49of the wells in Morocco
18:51are without authorization.
18:53It must be said.
18:55There are measures
18:57that have no financial impact.
18:59As you know,
19:01there is an annual tax
19:03for the wells.
19:05There is also
19:07a necessary coordination
19:09and three departments
19:11are mentioned in the report
19:13of the Court of Accounts.
19:15The Department of Agriculture,
19:17the Department of Energy
19:19and the Department of Industry.
19:21There must be coordination
19:23because water
19:25is a transversal resource.
19:27We call for a convergence
19:29of these three sectors
19:31but there must be a convergence
19:33of all public policies.
19:35Professor Baza has mentioned
19:37what we do
19:39after the publication
19:41of the evaluation
19:43of the Court of Accounts
19:45and of its recommendations
19:47alongside other institutions.
19:49Professor Baza,
19:51I am calling on you
19:53especially because there are
19:56a lot of questions
19:58related to the water
20:00that remains suspended.
20:02There is also
20:04regulation concerning
20:06the Ministry of Equipment
20:08and Water
20:10that remains suspended.
20:12Moreover,
20:14the Court of Accounts
20:16calls to accelerate
20:18the regulation.
20:20In brief,
20:22to what extent
20:24there is indeed a lot of application
20:26of the law on water that is missing
20:28but there is also
20:30and above all, a lot of laws
20:32that exist but are not applied.
20:34It should be noted
20:36that practically
20:38all the problems
20:40mentioned by Professor Sehimi
20:42are part of the spring of governance
20:44whether it is coordination
20:46between the sectors
20:48or pricing
20:50or practically everything
20:52is part of the spring of governance
20:54and we will have to act
20:56on the laws of governance
20:58in this regard.
21:00Unfortunately, we have come back
21:02because we no longer have
21:04the Higher Council of Water
21:06which in time
21:08ensured coordination
21:10and a certain number of governance axes
21:12at the national level
21:14but which are no longer operational.
21:16There was an inter-ministerial commission
21:18which was very active in time
21:20but which is no longer in force, etc.
21:22So there are many things
21:24in which we even have the past experience
21:26which is enough to put back on the rails
21:28but there is also
21:30a place to give
21:32and here I answer your question
21:34on these reports of the Court of Auditors
21:36they should not just be
21:38put in the drawers.
21:40It must be
21:42followed by facts.
21:44It is very important
21:46we have always noted
21:48the fact that there are evaluations
21:50by state bodies
21:52or by neutral bodies
21:54or whatever, is done to
21:56improve the situation because
21:58they are state bodies
22:00who spend money
22:02who spend a lot of money
22:04themselves as institutions
22:06we will have to
22:08ensure that their recommendations
22:10are put in place
22:12because that is what
22:14all these institutions are for.
22:16Yes.
22:18If you allow me, on governance
22:20one more word.
22:22Governance is not an abstract term.
22:24It is how
22:26public policies are implemented
22:28by those who have this responsibility.
22:30In this case, the government.
22:32It is simple.
22:34Governance should not be
22:36a thematic
22:38recurring in the official discourse.
22:40Governance, for those
22:42who are specifically from the water sector
22:44what is it? It is an agenda.
22:46There are late texts,
22:48texts that have not been published, etc.
22:50In the next three months,
22:52in the next six months,
22:54in the first half of 2025,
22:56there must be a specific government council
22:58Why not?
23:00We can have a specific government council
23:02on water.
23:04Why not say that the government's mission
23:06is first of all
23:08to regulate all departments
23:10once and for all.
23:12The decision must be taken
23:14by the chief executive.
23:16The chief executive who defended himself
23:18yesterday, Monday,
23:20and who said that
23:22it is also necessary to be fair
23:24and admit that the government
23:26has made
23:28a lot of progress
23:30especially
23:32on this issue of water.
23:34Believe me,
23:36I started with that.
23:38With this show, you know,
23:40here is what has been done.
23:42The dam program,
23:44desalination, treatment of wastewater, etc.
23:46Now, the other aspect
23:48is interpellative.
23:50There must be
23:52an ad hoc minister's council
23:54specialized in this issue,
23:56dedicated to this issue,
23:58where the head of the government
24:00announces all the application texts
24:02that have not been published.
24:04This is extremely important.
24:06It can be prepared, moreover,
24:08to optimize the operation
24:10by national water assises
24:12before this government council.
24:14This is governance.
24:16It is not to manage an obstinate
24:18and optimistic speech.
24:20But once again, there have been national
24:22water assises, where are the recommendations
24:24of these assises?
24:26Well, it is an opportunity
24:28to make water assises again
24:30if the time comes.
24:32But the water assises
24:34can wait.
24:36The government has a way out.
24:38It says, I am doing the reform
24:40of the assises of May 2019,
24:42the hundred of recommendations,
24:44but I do it by year, by section.
24:46The IAS, the IR, etc.
24:48In the species, it is a global approach
24:50that must prevail for
24:52water. And it is important
24:54that there is a national debate.
24:56There must be participation.
24:58Thank you very much, Professor Serémy.
25:00A final word, Professor Baza, in 30 seconds.
25:02If I have to add two terms
25:04to what Professor Serémy said,
25:06it is first of all the priority
25:08of water.
25:10The priority of water
25:12is not equaled by other sectors.
25:14There are problems
25:16in the sectors, of course,
25:18education, health, people, etc.
25:20But it is not the same thing
25:22as the priority, as the question
25:24of water.
25:26We do not even have the equivalent
25:28of what to drink for the next two years
25:30in all our dams.
25:32Today we have
25:34the Marbella Dam,
25:36which is the largest,
25:38which is 5 or 6% of its capacity,
25:40where there is practically
25:42not even a year of consumption
25:44of the population
25:46of this basin.
25:48The second word as a priority is
25:50urgency. There is urgency
25:52for the question of water.
25:54And what makes me
25:56a little sad,
25:58is to see
26:00that there is not enough
26:02awareness
26:04at the level where it is needed,
26:06apart from that
26:08of His Majesty. I think that His Majesty
26:10is really very, very sensitive,
26:12is sensitized to the question of water.
26:14But I do not find this awareness
26:16elsewhere,
26:18in the parties
26:20that are most concerned.
26:22I do not mean
26:24that they are not,
26:26in particular the Minister of Water.
26:28But there is urgency
26:30and this urgency to which
26:32the entire population of Morocco
26:34should be sensitized, but above all
26:36and also the decision-makers
26:38and those who are
26:40supposed to do things.
26:42Thank you. Speaking of priorities of water
26:44and urgency,
26:46we can still remember
26:48this call without equivocation
26:50at the occasion of the Feast of the Throne of His Majesty
26:52the King Mohammed VI, once again,
26:54which calls to accelerate
26:56the strategic vision
26:58to respond to the urgency
27:00of hydric stress.
27:02Thank you very much, Prof. Mohamed Baza,
27:04for participating with us.
27:06Thank you too, Prof. Mohamed Baza.
27:08This is the end of this episode.
27:10Good evening to all.