Casablanca Residents Outraged by Soaring Swimming Pool Fees

"We have noted a rise in discontent among citizens who were awaiting the opening of several new swimming pools in the Casablanca metropolis, due to the increase in access fees. Indeed, the company ’Sonarges’, mandated by the municipal council to manage these sports facilities, has proceeded to raise the annual membership fees for this socio-sports equipment," said the regional vice-coordinator of the Casablanca-Settat region to the National Instance for the Protection of Public Funds and Transparency in Morocco in a statement to Al3omk. Faced with this situation, these citizens who believe that swimming pools should be accessible to all at affordable prices, especially during the summer period, have sent a letter to the mayor of Casablanca, Nabila Rmili, asking her to intervene and to reverse the rates set by the company in charge of managing the sports pool of the Mohammed V stadium in Casablanca.

"The management company does not distinguish between the areas, whether it is Maarif or the working-class neighborhoods, and applies a uniform rate for this public facility in all districts and neighborhoods of Casablanca," he stressed, before mentioning a 2018 circular from the Minister of Youth and Sports. This circular specifies that the ministry’s strategy aims to broaden the base of practitioners and democratize access to the services offered by the sports institutions that depend on it.

According to the explanations of the regional vice-coordinator of the National Instance for the Protection of Public Funds and Transparency in Morocco, this circular stipulates that, following this decision, access to sports halls and neighborhood socio-sports centers under the ministry has become free, and that it is no longer permitted to collect the fees provided for by the previous decision, under penalty of legal sanctions. "The decision regarding access to public infrastructure has settled the issue by the force of law, and there is no longer any need to interpret differently a clear text, namely a ministerial decision published in the Official Bulletin," he hammered, questioning the legal basis of these rates.

He also recalled that the 2011 Constitution of the Kingdom devotes clear articles (26, 31 and 33) to the promotion of sport and obliges the various public authorities, primarily the elected authorities, to provide adequate support for sport.