Rabat — The measures taken by the government as part of the overall reconstruction and rehabilitation of the areas affected by the Al Haouz earthquake, pursuant to the High Royal Instructions, were, on Monday, at the center of the oral question session in the House of Representatives.
The topical issues presented by MPs at this session included the departments of National Education, Pre-school Learning and Sports, of Health and Social Protection, and of Equipment and Water.
On this occasion, the ministers concerned presented updated data on the supply of drinking water to areas affected by the earthquake, the rehabilitation of infrastructure, the opening up of affected regions and the upgrading of the national education and health sectors.
The Minister of National Education, Preschool Learning and Sports, Chakib Benmoussa, indicated in this context that the Ministry has adopted an emergency program to ensure educational continuity in the areas affected by the earthquake, including a financial and an educational component, noting that the High Atlas Development Agency will be responsible for implementing the reconstruction and rehabilitation program for the most affected educational establishments, at a cost of around four billion dirhams.
For his part, the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, stressed that the Ministry had mobilized all human and logistical resources to ensure the supply of drinking water to the areas affected by the Al Haouz earthquake.
The Minister of Health and Social Protection, Khalid Aït Taleb, said that 302 health establishments under his department's responsibility suffered varying degrees of damage following the Al Haouz earthquake, some of which were totally or partially collapsed, while others suffered minor cracks. He added that 65% of these damaged establishments were located in rural areas.
He pointed out that 195 establishments have been included in the emergency restoration program, in parallel with the plan to carry out a number of construction, enlargement and rehabilitation projects in the affected areas, with an estimated budget of 1.3 billion dirhams.
At the beginning of this session, a statement by the House of Representatives on the deteriorating situation, the launch of military action in the Gaza Strip and the attacks on civilians was read out.
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In this statement, the House of Representatives welcomed the efforts made by Moroccan diplomacy in line with the High Royal Guidelines for a return to calm and an end to bloodshed, with a view to opening the way for diplomatic and political action.
The House of Representatives explains the situation in the region by the blocking of the political and diplomatic perspective on peace, something the Kingdom, whose Sovereign, HM King Mohammed VI, chairs the Al Quds Committee, has constantly warned against.
