Makhzen Inconsistencies in Rebuilding Process Four Months After the Earthquake
BY: Hana Saada
ALGIERS- Nearly four months after the ground shook beneath the feet of residents in the Atlas region, the damages and aftermath of the earthquake continue to impact the lives of survivors across various Moroccan cities. The earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.9 on the Richter scale, extended its repercussions to several Moroccan cities, affecting the livelihoods of those who endured the Great Atlas earthquake, especially as winter sets in with significantly low temperatures.
Most survivors of the earthquake, which struck on September 8, 2023, have seen partial damage to their homes, marked by cracks and severe fractures requiring restoration and rehabilitation efforts. Meanwhile, another group witnessed complete destruction of their homes due to the violent tremors.
After four months, civil initiatives have highlighted the bureaucratic and inconsistent handling of the reconstruction phase following the earthquake. Despite the disbursement of the initial support for rebuilding and rehabilitating damaged residential buildings, not all affected individuals have benefited from the assistance.
State of Confusion: The Current Phase
The regional coordinator for the Civil Coalition for the Mountains in the Atlas region, Najia Ait Amhamed, remarked that “chaos and confusion still characterize the management of the file for rebuilding and rehabilitating partially or fully damaged homes from the earthquake, despite the disbursement of the first tranche of support allocated for this process.”
Ait Amhamed added that there is a lack of official information regarding the suitability of the land and soil conditions in the earthquake-affected areas for rebuilding and rehabilitating damaged homes. She pointed out that there is confusion and inconsistency in categorizing the extent of damage, with discrepancies between committees evaluating and assessing the damages.
Regarding the perceived inconsistency in managing the post-earthquake phase and the reconstruction process, Ait Amhamed explained that “the confusion is evident in the value of the first tranche received by some families (20,000 dirhams out of 80,000 dirhams), even though their homes were completely damaged. Meanwhile, the government specified compensation for this category at 140,000 dirhams.”
The civil activist attributed the problems related to the classification of affected individuals to “contradictions in the data of the committees that supervised the evaluation and measurement of damages. In some cases, the first committee classifies the house as completely damaged, while another committee classifies it as partially damaged.” She emphasized a lack of knowledge about the criteria used in classifying damaged houses.
Ait Amhamed concluded by stating that “in these circumstances, as residents of the affected areas, we see that rebuilding and rehabilitating homes damaged by the earthquake could take a long time, from 5 to 6 years, either due to unclear measures or due to a shortage of labor and construction materials.”
Designs Without Building Permits
Mohammed Belhassan, the coordinator of the Coordination of Victims of the Al Haouz Earthquake, highlighted significant issues faced by residents in the area in rehabilitating and rebuilding damaged homes. He stressed that “some citizens obtained building designs but without obtaining building permits.”
Discussing the challenges facing the population in the region in rehabilitating and building homes, Belhassan added that “even if a building permit is obtained, the situation of some villages does not allow the commencement of rebuilding houses due to the presence of debris hindering the arrival of construction equipment to some earthquake-affected areas.”
Describing the nature of the designs provided by local authorities to those involved in rebuilding, Belhassan clarified that “local authorities impose building designs on the population by specifying an area of only 70 square meters for construction. However, some of the damaged houses had an area of 140 square meters, almost half of the area specified in the design.”
The civic activist criticized the “complete absence of communication with citizens unless they take to the streets to protest and express their anger about the management of one of the files related to reconstruction or the support provided to the affected individuals.”
In conclusion, the challenges in the post-earthquake phase continue to affect the reconstruction efforts, emphasizing the need for more coordinated and transparent measures to expedite the process and ensure fair and effective support to all affected individuals.
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