Interview: Mohamed Nabil Benabdallah
What can be done to reduce the housing deficit?
MOHAMED NABIL BANABDALLAH: The housing deficit has decreased significantly in recent years, going from 840,000 units in 2012 to 642,000 in 2014. The objective is now to reach 400,000 units in 2016. This progress has largely been the result of increased private sector involvement, particularly with regards to its participation in social housing programmes and efforts to expand low-income residential housing.
A number of other activities have also been encouraged to help improve living conditions for lower-income households, such as the establishment of more than 74 housing cooperatives over the past three years. Moreover, the government has sought to address the problems of substandard housing, rolling out a strategy relying on three main pillars: the Cities Without Slums programme, the rehabilitation of derelict housing and the fight against non-compliant housing.
However, to sustain these efforts will require accompanying measures to improve access to public land. This will allow us to ensure that by 2025 new projects are located in the regions where demand for housing is highest, while new supply can adequately meet demand for different types of housing appropriate to a range of levels in purchasing power. As part of this work, a national survey on housing demand is currently under way, with the first phase already completed.
To what extent is it possible to sustainably boost housing supply for middle-income households?
BENABDALLAH: Increasing middle-income residential housing has served, and continues to serve, as a major target of the government, not only via the existing system of regulations to adequately address demand but also through new efforts to encourage investment in the sector from private sector property developers.
Priority intervention areas include the allocation of public land to operators wishing to target the segment, both independently and through calls for expression of interest. To ensure the continued profitability of these projects, however, we will also need to ensure appropriate regulation of land prices.
How can the government take steps to improve the quality standards of construction in Morocco?
BENABDALLAH: Although the construction sector has seen unprecedented growth in recent years, it continues to lack a unified technical, legal and regulatory framework. A comprehensive and enforceable building act remains indispensable as a result, which is why the government has chosen to create a new construction code. The planned code takes a look most closely at the following five areas: the building materials involved in the construction process, the construction process itself, the balance of risks, and safety at the construction sites, and related monitoring and sanctions. The goal is to preserve the rights of owners, developers and tenants, clarify the responsibilities of all parties, and guarantee reparations where necessary throughout the construction process.
What has been the impact thus far of the government’s “Cities without Slums” programme?
BENABDALLAH: Since its launch in 2004, the Cities without Slums programme has helped in the struggle against marginalisation and social precariousness, for example through the increased production of affordable housing for low-income households.
The programme aims to clear 85 cities and urban centres of slum housing and has a total investment of DH32bn (€2.85bn). The programme includes a social component and also creates a framework that clearly outlines the shared responsibilities between the state, local authorities and operators.
So far the programme has helped to improve the living conditions of 1.2m inhabitants, or 64% of the target population of 1.9m inhabitants, with 52 cities already declared slum-free, alongside the improvement of the most prominent and visible slum areas in Casablanca, such as Douars Sekouila, Toma and Bachkou.
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