Urban Transport (Morocco)
.: Presentation
Urban development is one of the striking phenomena of Moroccan society today. The urban population of the country should go from about 55% of the total population in 2005 to 70% in 2020. These changes, which are accompanied by the spreading of towns and an increase in mobility and in households' use of motorised transport, create complex problems in organising public transport and managing traffic. They also demand difficult choices for the preparation and implementation of urban transport strategies and investment programmes which take into account financial constraints and optimize the results for the population.
The human resources needed to face these new challenges are currently limited in Morocco. Indeed, developing them was not a necessity in the past, to the point where few executives have received basic training in these areas. This shortage of executives has become a major obstacle to sustainable progress in the urban travel sector. It is clear that the problem will only be settled through sustained attention and the implementation of periodic training for new executives and university training for new recruits. Nevertheless, it is important to create, as quickly as possible, a core of Moroccan executives with basic knowledge in the sector.
As part of the new policy on urban travel initiated by the Moroccan ministry of Interior (DGCL/DPE), with the support of the World Bank (program for technical assistance with decentralization), a first training program is planned over 18 months/2 years for about thirty technicians from the central administration (ministries of the Interior and of Infrastructure) and local authorities (wilayas, municipalities, urban agencies).
The first phase of the program will take place in 2008 in Morocco and will include three constituents:
~ 8 January 2008: launch and session devoted to urban transport plans, accompanied by action from the ministry of Interior providing financial and technical encouragement for urban transport plans in the large cities: organisation DGCL.DPE;
~ 24-25 January 2008: after having attended the regional seminar on Mediterranean urban transport, the trainees will follow a course on managing bus networks.
Organisation: World Bank;
~ 4 sessions (three of 5 days + one of two days) from March to July 2008.
Organisation: The Hassania School of Public Works (EHTP), financed by the governments of Morocco (Ministry of Interior) and France (PAD Morocco) and the World Bank (KNA MENA/trust fund).
.: Objectives
The essential objectives of this training program are as follows:
~ To ensure that a core of about 30 executives (Wilayas, urban municipalities) from the Ministries of Interior and Infrastructure and the large Moroccan urban areas have basic skills in the preparation and implementation of strategies for the development and management of urban transport.
~ To initiate the implementation of a sustainable system for periodic training in the area of urban transport.
~ To initiate the creation of a network of experts in urban transport in Morocco.
~ To carry out the first concrete projects for improving urban transport from 2008.
.: Documentation
~ Training session on 8 January 2008
~ Training session on 24 and 25 January 2008
~ Other training sessions
