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Once again, housing threatening ruin in Fes calls out and brings together local authorities, notably the Wali of Fes, various departments concerned, elected officials, Ader (Agency for the dedensification and rehabilitation of the Medina), and civil society. And for once, it is not because of the collapse of old homes on their inhabitants or a historical site falling into ruin. It is in fact the implementation of the five-year restoration programme (2013-2017), launched recently by
King Mohammed VI, which motivates this meeting on "the treatment of housing threatening ruin in the Medina of Fes". And there is urgency. The Wali of the Fes-Boulemane region and governor of the Fes-Medina prefecture, Mohammed Dardouri, indicated in his speech that the problem of buildings threatening ruin in the Medina of Fes was very sensitive and complex. It is at the origin of the creation of Ader more than 20 years ago and concerns a very fragile fabric and centuries of history.
In fact, the restoration and rehabilitation of this fabric require a partnership approach with different stakeholders, notably the inhabitants and civil society. "The conventions relating to the rehabilitation of
the Medina, signed before His Majesty King Mohammed VI, provide for an envelope of 330 million DH and we hope for the involvement of other partners, notably the inhabitants and civil society so that the interventions are global and contribute to the preservation of this historical heritage," he added, specifying that this meeting will be followed by others with civil society, associations, and inhabitants to develop an intervention methodology involving different local actors. These meetings are also steered by a local commission composed of representatives of different external services.
Fouad Serghini, the director of the Agency for the dedensification and rehabilitation of the Medina of the city of Fes (Ader Fes), paints a bleak picture of the situation of the Medina of Fes. He specifies in his speech that the threat of ruin in the Medina is a dangerous urban phenomenon with a very fragile social structure. "According to studies and censuses made in the Medina, four families on average live in a house threatening ruin, 70% of the inhabitants are tenants with an average rent of 300 DH per month and 21 m² of area occupied per family," he explained, adding that a simple visit to the Medina and Fes Jdid reveals the advanced level of dilapidation and neglect. "There are 3,666 dilapidated homes threatening ruin, of which 1,729 are in a very advanced state of dilapidation and are classified as first degree. These homes require urgent and specific intervention. There are also 941 homes threatening ruin of the second degree and 996 of the third degree. These also require urgent intervention and awareness-raising among the inhabitants to limit their dilapidation and destruction over time," he specifies. He also presented the various rehabilitation and restoration projects for housing threatening ruin steered by Ader since its creation, insisting on the difficulties encountered, notably of a legal, urban, social, and financial nature, but also of a technical nature with the lack of Moroccan artisans and architects specialising in this type of intervention who take into account the architectural aspect of the Medina.
It remains that local officials must be up to the task of this great safeguarding project and that we must put an end to the "smash and grab" operations, carried out in haste and often characterised by difficulties, notably in terms of project management.
With a total investment of 615 million dirhams, the five-year restoration programme 2013-2017 should concern nearly 4,000 buildings threatening ruin as well as 27 monuments and historical sites of the Medina of Fes. The restoration programme should also cover tanneries, bridges, and madrasas built by the Merinid dynasty between the 13th and 14th centuries. In detail, the conventions signed last March before H.M. the King aim at the treatment of 3,666 buildings threatening ruin, for a cost of 330 million DH, as well as intervention in favour of 5 madrasas, 4 bordjs, 3 fondouks, 3 tanneries, 2 walls, and 2 bridges, for a budgetary envelope of 285.5 million DH covered by several partners.
Provider / Source : Rachida Bami, Le Matin
