MOROCCO: Souss Massa Drâa Region CRI SMD - Agadir
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MOROCCO: Souss Massa Drâa Region CRI SMD - Agadir The Regional Investment Centre, incarnation of regionalisation State public administration From de-concentration to decentralisation Created in 2002 The principle of decentralisation was written into the Constitution as Operational territory: Souss Massa Drâa Region (SMD) early as 1962 but was not applied until 1976, and was bolstered in Grand Agadir Urban Centre (Agadir and Inezgane-Ait Melloul) & local areas: 2002 with the adoption of the Municipal Charter. Whilst the latter may Agricultural plains and intermediate towns of the Drâa (Ouarzazate-Zagora) have strengthened the powers of local councillors, in practice the pro- Missions cess would appear to be a de-concentration. Morocco to date has 16 regions, 74 prefectures (urban constituencies) and provinces (rural Facilitation & entrepreneurship Promotion of the region & counsel constituencies) and more than 1,500 municipalities. Even if their com- One-stop shop for creators of businesses Pro-active force with national and and domestic and foreign investors, regional authorities, support for deve- petence varies considerably, these local authorities vote a budget, ap- promotion of entrepreneurial culture, lopment projects (sectoral funds, busi- prove the accounts, define an economic and social plan, introduce pu- settlement of disputes ness parks, clusters). blic services and facilities, make partnerships and may create local de- velopment companies. Inter-authority cooperation is also promoted by Resources law. Annual operating & intervention 19 people (68% with civil servant budget (excluding salaries): 9.5 M status/32% under private contracts, The region, leading contact in economic matters Dirhams (800 k€), SEGMA budget the latter all senior executives), split Granted the rank of territorial authority in 1992 after having been a (Autonomously Controlled State Servi- between the HQ in Agadir and the ces) branch office in Ouarzazate mere constituency for planning purposes, the region has gradually be- come the reference level of government in economic terms. Beyond the Governance general competence of the local authorities, the Regional Council is External Department of the Minis- Executive Director responsible for promoting all action likely to encourage the economic try of the Interior The Director of the CRI has the rank of development of the region. The State has moreover transferred to it Under supervision of the Wali of the Managing Director. He is appointed (for the creation and maintenance of regional infrastructures and facilities region (Governor representing the Sta- 4 to 6 years) directly by Royal Dahir (schools, universities, hospitals, business parks). Finally, it is consulted te), who signs all the CRI documents (decree) on public services, development policies and promotional actions to be Learn more implemented in the region. In 2002, each region was moreover granted a Regional Investment Centre (CRI) to facilitate the administrative pro- Web www.cri-agadir.ma CRI SMD - Agadir, Cité Founty cedures of those wishing to create businesses and investors and partici- Email [email protected] BP 31 333 pate in local development. Tel +212.528.21.92.30 Agadir, MOROCCO pour le programme MOROCCO: Souss Massa Drâa Region CRI SMD - Agadir Management: collective emulation at the service of entrepreneurship The SMD Region, spirit of enterprise champion in Morocco Doing Business: Agadir is doing better than the OECD countries Despite its status of public organisation, human relations management According to the World Bank Subnational Doing Business report (criteria (HRM) within the CRI is highly performance-oriented. Interregional involving local decision-making power), Agadir is the region of Morocco emulation brought about by the fine benchmarking of the Subnational where it is easiest to settle a trade dispute. It takes less time in Agadir Doing Business report (effective lead time to create a business, grant- than in Paris or ing of licences, transfer of property rights, performance of a contract, Istanbul. etc.) would seem to play an even more important role in the mobilisa- Furthermore, it tion of the CRI teams than HRM. The SMD Region, a traditional space takes only 93 days for entrepreneurs, has in 3 consecutive years, been considered by the on average to ob- World Bank as the No. 1 region in Morocco in terms of the improve- tain a building ment in the business climate. A real consecration for the CRI. permit there com- A team tightly knit around 3 operational departments pared with 157 for the OECD coun- The CRI relies upon senior executives with private contracts, whose tries. performance is recompensed by individual bonuses. The position of Director of the CRI, usually reserved for a senior State civil servant, You can count a from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, or the Interior Ministry, is mere 9 days to often a stepping stone towards a position of Governor or Wali. The CRI start a new activity team covers the whole of the regional territory thanks to its HQ in against around 13 Agadir, its office in Ouarzazate, and its provincial branches, run by within the OECD. executives from the provincial governments and regional prefectures. As far as the trans- Other than administrative functions, the CRI team is split into 3 depart- fer of property ments corresponding to its main missions: rights is concerned Aid for the creation of business (5 people + 1 at Ouarzazate) the SMD region also does better Aid for investors (3 people + 1 at Ouarzazate) than the OECD Promotion and Cooperation (3 people) average, with 22 Lead time to execute a contract, Doing Business 2008 days against 25. © ANIMA - Invest in Med 2011 MOROCCO: Souss Massa Drâa Region CRI SMD - Agadir Missions: a team in the region at the service of the entrepreneur A one-stop for all business projects in the region The CRI, a facilitator at the heart of the regional and national The first mission of the CRI is to inform, orient and support business investment commissions creators and investors gratuitously. The CRIs are thus charged with the The CRI provides the secretariat of the implementation of the Very Small Enterprise (VSE) support programme regional investment commission which Moukalawati. Using this one-stop service is highly recommended for it studies requests for authorisation for cer- enables a project to be started in a very short time. Especially since it is tain investment projects, so as to enable obligatory to use the CRI to obtain certain land-related authorisations the regional Wali to sign the appropriate (see Investors space on the CRI site: derogation for zoning plans, etc.). administrative paperwork. This commission Finally, the CRI coordinates its network of partners to put together or comprises permanent members (Urban support important projects (cf. Agadirshore project below), and pro- Agency, Regional Water and Forestry De- mote an improvement in the local business climate with the Wali and partments, and Town and Country Plan- local authorities. ning) and non-permanent members, con- cerned by the application being studied: local authorities, ministerial A kingpin in regional economic development delegations and other involved players. To support the entrepreneur, the CRI is in contact with: The CRI can on request assist investors - the Regional Wilaya and the Ministry of the Interior (supervision); eligible for national aid from the Inves- ment Promotion Fund (amount > MAD - the Office of Industrial Property , and Social Security (creation) ; 200 M/permanent jobs > 250/priority - the ministerial delegations, the Regional Inspection of the Habitat, territories/technology transfer/protection Town and Country Planning, local authorities and urban agencies (land of the environment) in the preparation & development schemes), and defence of their application. - the SMD Regional Council, with which it develops both the regional strategy and a number of operational tools (see box below); Finally, the CRI is responsible for controlling - The ANPME (SMEs), the ANAPEC (employment), the professional the compliance of the project with the com- chambers - CCI (support for entrepreneurship—the project SMD Initia- mitments made by its promoter in the in- tive cf. France Initiative– and training); vestment agreement signed with the State. - Invest in Morocco (strategic projects), the SMIT (stations of the Plan This function is provided by a local project Azur), and MedZ (development of business parks such as Haliopolis) progress monitoring committee . © ANIMA - Invest in Med 2011 MOROCCO: Souss Massa Drâa Region CRI SMD - Agadir Strategy: a challenger for Casablanca? Souss Massa Draa among the country’s main driving forces 2005-2010 sectoral dynamics and priorities cf McKinsey According to the Ministry of Economy Portfolio analysis and regional hierarchisation of the main sectors and Finance, the region is the 2nd largest contributor to national GDP Priority 1 Fishing (incl. To ur i s m (12.2% against 19% for Greater Priority 2 High Industry) Casablanca), while only covering Priority 3 10% of national territory, and hous- GDP per sector ing 10% of its population (3 million). (million MAD) According to data from the Plan High Trend Commission, however, it is only 5th. Other industry The SMD is a crossroads area: coun- try’s 2nd commercial port and 3rd Agriculture & airport hub. Handicrafts Agribusiness COMPETITIVENESS A strategic plan initiated by the Regional Council Cinema Timing : Strategy => 5 yrs (2010-2015 plan validated 12/2010)