Govt. Chief Calls for Accelerating Implementation of National Sustainable Development Strategy by Prioritizing Territorial Dimension

Head of Government Saad Dine El Otmani called, on Wednesday in Rabat, to speed up the implementation of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development (SNDD), by giving a particular attention to the territorial dimension and ensuring concerted action in carrying out sectoral programs and plans that fall under it.

Speaking at the opening of the National Commission for Sustainable Development which he chaired in person, El Otmani focused on the importance of regional and territorial dimensions in the implementation of the SNDD, in accordance with the principle of territoriality provided for in framework law 12-99 concerning the National Charter for the Environment and Sustainable Development, said a press release from the Department of the Head of Government.

During this meeting held within the framework of the affirmed adherence of the Kingdom of Morocco, under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, to a preventive and voluntary-based policy aimed at achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs), while ensuring that Morocco respects its external commitments, El Otmani underlined that the challenges that await the Kingdom in the implementation of the United Nations agenda, over the next decade, require more coordination, concerted action and efficiency in sectoral programs, projects and policies, with a review of priorities that takes into account the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

This meeting comes in application of the provisions of Decree No. 2.19.452 published in the Official Bulletin of June 29, 2019, and also in reaction to the recommendations of the Court of Auditors laid down in its report on the government’s preparation for implementing the SDGs, and on the interconnection of sectoral programs and policies with these Objectives.

El Otmani stressed that the governance mechanism, adopted in accordance with the aforementioned decree, has made it possible to launch a new dynamic for implementing the SDGs, thus facilitating the preparation of the voluntary national report on the implementation of these objectives, which Morocco has undertaken to present to the high-level political forum on sustainable development, scheduled for next July under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, noted the same source.

The Head of Government also welcomed the participatory approach adopted in the preparation, by the High Commission for Planning (HCP) in coordination with all the sectors and stakeholders concerned, of this second voluntary national report.

This report highlights the level of implementation of the SDGs in Morocco, some of which were achieved before the deadlines set in the UN agenda, such as the fight against hunger, the drop in the rate of maternal and infant mortality and the expansion of pre-school education and its generalization, he said.

The report also reveals that other SDGs are under way and will be implemented by 2030, in particular the fight against poverty, improving the nutrition of children under the age of five and generalizing schooling at all levels of education, noting, however, that more efforts are required to achieve other objectives such as the enhancement of human capital, the reduction of precariousness, and social, sectoral and gender inequalities, and promoting economic growth that creates decent jobs, especially for young people and women.

El Otmani also reviewed the progress made in the establishment of the SNDD since its adoption at the Council of Ministers on June 25, 2017, held under the presidency of HM King Mohammed VI.

In this regard, the Head of Government recalled the adoption of the “Administration Exemplary Pact” at the meeting of the Strategic Committee for Sustainable Development on February 22, 2019 and the publication of the Head of government’s circular of May 30, 2019, which calls on all public administrations to carry out the environmental audit of buildings and to propose sectoral plans for implementing the said pact.

This meeting was marked by a presentation by Minister of Energy, Mining and the Environment Aziz Rebbah, on the 2019 assessment of the implementation of the SNDD, as well as a presentation by the High Commission for Planning on the voluntary national report on the SDGs, said the same source.