Morocco’s Weekly Rural Markets: CESE Urges Reform of Vital Economic Hubs

The CESE calls on the public authorities to urgently focus on the issue of weekly souks or markets in rural areas. The number of weekly markets in rural areas is around 889, of which 822 take place regularly and 67 do not, and this is spread over about 1282 rural groups distributed in various regions of the Kingdom, reports Hespress. It is a meeting place that allows the inhabitants of a region to buy and sell various goods. It is also a place for exchanging information. According to the CESE’s analysis, it constitutes an important financial platform in the local, regional and even national economy, as it fulfills basic economic and commercial functions.

The independent constitutional institution chaired by Ahmed Chami has urged the actors involved in the management of weekly souks in rural areas to reorganize the sector by investing in the rehabilitation and modernization of these spaces to make them real places of development. The CESE believes that the weekly souks must promote participatory and coordinated management by rationalizing revenues and creating wealth for the local population. The analysis published in Official Journal No. 6984 issued this week also mentions the repercussions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In this context, it would be necessary to offer the users of these weekly markets the necessary conditions to ensure safety and health even during crisis periods.

The last study on the functioning of the souks was carried out in 2013 by the General Directorate of Local Authorities, under the Ministry of the Interior. It focused on "the restructuring of weekly souks and the professionalization of their management". The weekly souks attract about three thousand visitors per market, or 2.6 million visitors per week nationwide, with significant financial revenues that vary according to the specialty, the nature of the market, its size and location. Despite the strong contribution of the markets to the revitalization of the local and regional economy, the social, economic and cultural potential offered by the souks remains underutilized.

The Council’s data confirms that the method adopted to manage the souks does not guarantee economic performance. About 40% of these markets are directly managed, a scheme that has shown its limits in terms of infrastructure improvement or economic performance. 52% of them are not connected to the water and sanitation network, 48% do not have lighting and about 36% of these markets are not surrounded by a fence. A real problem of management and restructuring to which the CESE invites the authorities to find immediate solutions for a better participation of these souks in local and national development.