In the Height of Summer, Rabat Removes Shade from Small Shops

The campaign concerns several districts of the capital. Sunshades, advertising signs and identification panels are being removed from façades when they reportedly do not have the necessary permits.

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Merchants do not object to the principle of regulation, but denounce the lack of sufficiently clear rules to legalize their installations. They say they do not know the dimensions, colors or models of sunshades that would be authorized.

The disappearance of the awnings exposes products to the sun from morning until evening, with a risk of deterioration, explains the secretary-general of the Moroccan Union of Merchants and Professionals to Madar21.

Cardboard to regain a little shade

Some merchants are now installing pieces of cardboard or plastic tarps in front of their shops. According to their representative, this makeshift solution further damages the appearance of the streets than the former sunshades did.

Legalization also faces an administrative difficulty. To obtain authorization to install an awning, business owners would have to present an operating license that many do not possess, including some whose shops have been operating for several decades.

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The union is calling for the removals to be suspended until dialogue is opened and identical rules are adopted for everyone. In seeking to harmonize the façades of the capital, Rabat is for now leaving small shops without shade and goods under the sun.