AFD lends Morocco €100 Mln to support local development
The French Development Agency (AFD) has lent lately Morocco €100 million to enhance the performance of local councils, boost local socioeconomic development and improve community public service.
The agency’s funding comes after the World Bank financial contribution of €272 million provided last year to strengthen the capacities of Morocco’s municipalities, an objective that is part of the Kingdom’s broader efforts to upgrade urban services and turn urban conglomerations into engines of growth and job creation.
The AFD loan will fund a five-year program aimed at fostering the leading role played by the communes in providing public services and bringing closer the administration to the citizens.
The program also seeks to strengthen local governance and increase the local council investment in equipment, says a press release issued by the French Development agency.
In Morocco, communes account for 80 pc of the urban population and 50 pc of the country’s total population. “The communes’ funding will depend on the results achieved after an annual evaluation of their performance carried out by the ministry of the Interior”, adds the AFD statement, stressing the importance of this incentive mechanism.
Last month, the AFD approved a €50 million credit line to Crédit Agricole du Maroc (CAM) to enable the Moroccan agricultural bank support farmers, agro-business projects and sustainable agriculture focusing on integrated irrigation, energy efficiency, organic farming, agricultural waste treatment and renewable energies.
