Rabat Demolitions Legal, Part of Long-Planned Development: Interior Minister

In a written response to deputy Nadia Touhami (PPS), the minister justified the legitimacy of these demolition operations carried out in several neighborhoods of Rabat, including Ocean and Yaâcoub El Mansour, which had sparked intense controversy. Abdelouafi Laftit affirmed that these operations are part of development programs planned for years.

The minister specified that these interventions aim to find viable solutions to development problems in the kingdom’s capital, which continues to house slums and dilapidated buildings at risk of collapse, particularly in the medina, Ocean, Oudayas, El Akkari, and Yaâcoub El Mansour. The "Cities without Slums" program and the one dedicated to addressing buildings at risk of collapse are implemented to remedy these situations.

The official added that more than 9,400 slums have been demolished and some 13,000 families rehoused. Also, nearly 1,150 buildings at risk of collapse have been identified in these neighborhoods. All these actions are carried out in partnership with the National Agency for Urban Renewal and Rehabilitation of Buildings at Risk of Collapse, Laftit assures, emphasizing that these operations do not target a specific neighborhood but concern all five districts of Rabat.

Regarding the ongoing operations in the Ocean neighborhood, they are part of an approach based on consent to offer viable solutions to underprivileged families, added the government member.