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Morocco’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Policy is set to review its middle class-oriented housing programs.
According to Minister of Housing Nouzha Bouchareb, the programs put in place for the benefit of Morocco’s middle class since 2013 “have not reached the expectations.”
Bouchareb made the announcement on Tuesday, October 28, during a meeting at the House of Councillors.
Reviewing housing mechanisms and programs that target the middle class are among her department’s top priorities, she affirmed.
New programs should offer innovative solutions and new financing modes to make access to housing more flexible and adequate for middle-income families, Bouchareb added.
Read also: Minister: Morocco, Africa Must Prioritize Housing Sector Amid COVID-19
On the other hand, the minister presented a positive review of other housing programs in Morocco, oriented towards low-income households.
She recalled the launch of a program in 2008 to offer “decent” housing for people residing in shanty towns across Morocco. The program also targeted Moroccans living in houses that might collapse.
The initiative offered accommodations to low-income families for the price of MAD 140,000 ($15,284). As of August 2020, the program allowed for the creation of 28,053 new accommodations.
In 2010, Morocco launched a second program for “social housing.” The initiative concerned low to middle-income families who do not own a house. It offered small, budget-friendly apartments for the price of MAD 250,000 ($27,293).
As of last August, the program had helped 496,603 Moroccan families to become home-owners.
According to Bouchareb, the programs have significantly reduced the impact of Morocco’s housing crisis. They helped reduce the country’s housing deficit from 2.1 million units to 400,000.
The minister also presented her department’s projects in rural areas, assuring that the programs do not only cover Moroccan cities.
She recalled the signature of 32 different conventions for building budget-friendly accommodations in Morocco’s rural areas. The conventions have an overall budget of MAD 280 million ($30.57 million), including MAD 120 million ($13.1 million) from the ministry’s budget.
So far, the initiatives in rural areas have built 57,000 budget-friendly apartments, as well as 1,470 accommodations for Moroccans in precarious situations.
