Cemeteries
The municipal council of Salé ensures the organization, maintenance, and preservation of cemeteries by acquiring new land for the burial of Muslim deceased and by developing the existing cemeteries.
To this end, the council signed a three-year contract with a specialized company to provide permanent and daily maintenance of the cemeteries. This maintenance includes, in particular, paving the walkways with reinforced concrete, removing weeds, clearing all types of waste, maintaining and repainting the perimeter walls, repairing the gates, and assigning permanent guards.
Furthermore, the mortuary under the Hygiene and Environmental Preservation Department has been maintained and equipped with the necessary facilities for body preservation. The vehicle fleet used for transporting the deceased has also been renovated.
The reopening of the Sidi Belâabbas cemetery, after its redevelopment, has helped reduce the pressure on other cemeteries and provide sufficient and dignified spaces for the burial of Muslim deceased.
However, despite the efforts made, the current management of the cemetery service — which relies mainly on maintenance contracts requiring significant annual budgets — remains below the expectations of the council and the residents, particularly regarding burial conditions, cleanliness, and security.
Based on the desire of the municipality of Salé to implement a participatory approach with civil society associations for the development and maintenance of existing cemeteries within its territory, as well as those to be created in the future — and knowing that the contribution of civil society to cemetery maintenance in Salé is not new, but rather a deeply rooted tradition among the city’s residents — one can mention, in this regard, the initiative of a local benefactor and the Bouregreg Association for the rehabilitation of the Bab Mâalqa cemetery, as well as several cleaning operations carried out by various civil society associations in partnership with the municipality within the framework of the “Salé, Clean City” program.
To consolidate these exemplary initiatives, and at the initiative of a group of citizens from Salé, the municipality signed in 2018 a partnership agreement with an association called the “Salé Cemetery Management Association,” with the aim of contributing to the development and maintenance of cemeteries, ensuring that they are kept in a state befitting the dignity of Muslim deceased and in accordance with the human and religious standards applicable to the management of this public service.
Under this agreement, the Salé Cemetery Management Association is entrusted with a set of responsibilities, including:
- ensuring compliance with grave standards (orientation towards the qibla, length, width, depth, and type of construction);
- creating pedestrian pathways that allow access to the graves without stepping on them;
- maintaining green spaces and plantings;
- providing continuous overseeing of the cemeteries;
- recruiting and supervising the necessary staff and supplying the required equipment;
- organizing volunteer activities to raise awareness about the importance of respecting and keeping cemeteries clean.
The commitments of the municipality of Salé, under this agreement, consist of providing an annual financial contribution to the Salé Cemetery Management Association and offering the necessary support to facilitate the association’s tasks in cemetery cleaning and maintenance.
Thus, since August 1, 2018, the association has been managing the burial operations of Muslim deceased at the Sidi Belâabbas cemetery, as well as fulfilling its commitments related to the supervision, cleaning, and removal of weeds in the cemeteries of Sidi Belâabbas and Bab Mâalqa.
This new approach has led to a noticeable improvement in the management of the city’s cemeteries, with residents beginning to perceive its positive effects on the ground, leaving a favorable impression among all parties involved.
Moreover, the association plans to carry out several future projects concerning the management of visits, burials, and various services and interventions related to the maintenance of cemeteries within the municipality’s territory.
It should be noted that the municipal council of Salé approved, during its ordinary session in October 2019, a partnership agreement between the municipality of Salé and the municipality of Shoul for the creation and management of a cemetery on the land known as “Aâbibou 2”, with cadastral number 7268/R in the municipality of Shoul, covering an area of approximately 12 hectares.
