The municipality of Salé organizes a day of study and evaluation-assessment of the first year elapsed of the meetings of the “Thursday of Concertation”
The commune of Salé organized, Saturday, April 07, 2018 at the Hotel and Tourist Institute of Technology (ITHT) of Salé, a study day devoted to the evaluation-assessment of the first year of the meetings of the “Thursday of Concertation” (TC ); and in the presence of the President of the municipality of Salé, Jamaâ El Moâtassim, the coordinator of German cooperation, Fabio Germano, representatives of the consultation committees and civil society, a group of elected officials, actors interested parties and journalists.
As a prelude to this meeting, the TC steering committee member and host of the inaugural session, Rachid Zellou, insisted that the monthly assemblies of the TC of Salé have become a pilot experiment at the local and national, and even international, levels in the field of operational implementation of the principle of participatory democracy; which principle has been stated both by the Constitution of the Kingdom and the organic laws on the territorial communes. He added that the success of this initiative reflects the determined will and commitment of the Salé municipal council. Only, the speaker mentioned that this experience had strengths and weaknesses, and that the workshops of this day of study would make it possible to elucidate it and to formulate its own recommendations.
During his speech on this occasion, Mr. El Moâtassim emphasized his pride in this participatory experience and reiterated his thanks to all those who contributed in its support and success, namely: the Directorate-General for Local Authorities (DGCL); the German Cooperation Agency (GIZ), which has supported the project since its launch; the different external services by their remarkable participation in the various stages of the TC of Salé; as well as civil society associations because of their commitment, interaction and dynamism. Mr. President also recalled that all human action is flawed and that the evaluation process of the TC gatherings will be an annual reunion to identify the strengths and weaknesses to correct and reinforce the course of the experience, as many Moroccan cities have expressed their willingness to benefit from this initiative, in addition to the fact that it was recently presented in Tunis as part of a symposium organized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In addition, the President of the Council informed the audience that Salé would host a national forum for participatory action during the current year.
He also added that one of the powers of this experience would be the constant feeling of ownership by everyone. He also promised to work on strengthening the TC Task Force and the establishment of the “House of Concertation” to serve as a seat and communal consultation space, like a number of other city’s cultural spaces. The Chair also suggested that the annual evaluation workshops be organized and published in a dedicated book.
For his part, the representative of the German Cooperation Agency (GIZ), Fabio Germano, congratulated everyone for the excellence of the consultative experience of Salé, recalling the beginnings of the project and highlighting the spontaneous response, the commitment and cooperation of Salé council. The same speaker expressed his admiration for the in-depth discussions and the serious, responsible and sometimes burning participation of the various participants in the audiences of the TC, expressing the will of his organization to continue the cooperation with the municipality to follow the experience and ensure its continuity.
Subsequently, three workshops were formed:
• 1st workshop: “Evaluation of the objectives and the mission of the TC of Salé”;
• 2nd workshop: “Evaluation of the work and organization of the TC of Salé meetings”;
• 3rd workshop: “Practical Suggestions on the means of the implementation of the recommendations resulting from the TC of Salé meetings “.
The various workshops had rich discussions, and many recommendations were presented by the recorders of these workshops in plenary session.
A synthesis report will be prepared on the various workshops and the recommendations that came out of it, which will be published later on the portal of the municipality.
