Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
October 29, 2005

MCA : Morocco to outline anti-poverty plan in Washington.
Morocco, scenery of American movie on 9/11 attacks.
Nearly 600,000 recipients of micro-credits in Morocco.
Avian flu transmission through food consumption almost nill.
Morocco set to foster Amazigh culture via national media.
Amazigh culture Prize corroborates Morocco's endeavours to venerate Berber patrimony.
Associations appeal for new archaeological site to be saved.
Roman ruins yield new data.
Voluntary early retirement Intilaka benefited 7.5% of civil servants

MCA : Morocco to outline anti-poverty plan in Washington.
Rabat, Oct.26

Morocco will outline in Washington an ambitious program against poverty to foster employment part of Millennium challenge account (MCA), revealed, here Tuesday, Director General of the North Promotion Agency, Driss Benhima. This program falls in line with US request, includes several projects covering 18 North, East and South poorest provinces, Benhima told the press at the end of a meeting chaired on Tuesday by Prime minister Driss Jettou. Morocco qualified in 2004 for the U.S. Millennium Challenge Account based on its progress in governing justly, investing in its citizens and ensuring economic freedom, as measured against criteria established and monitored by independent organizations.
It was the only country in the Broader Middle East and North Africa to become eligible at MCA that aims at fostering lasting economic development and fighting poverty. Moroccan proposal is also part of the National initiative for Human Development launched on May 18 with the aim to reduce social disparities and fight exclusion. It is designed to provide basic infrastructure to millions, from adequate housing and drinking water to health care and education, which is in line with the MCA.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/mca___morocco_to_out/view 
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Morocco, scenery of American movie on 9/11 attacks.
Washington, Oct. 24

American director, Stephen Root has announced he will come to Morocco to shoot a movie on the 9/11 events based on the 9/11 Commission report. In an interview with the American TV magazine "TV Guide", the director says it is the biggest and the most expensive miniseries ever, in terms of film. The film story starts with the 1993 bombing and follows the backstory of the terrorists till the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Root affirms that the film sheds light on how Richard Clarke and John O'Neill came to the same conclusion that Bin Laden was funding everything.
Richard Clarke was the counter-terrorism adviser on the U.S. National Security Council when the September 11 attacks occurred. He warned Bush administration of Al-Qaeda threat, but they did nothing about it because they were obsessed by Iraq. John O'Neill, FBI N°2 in New York and former coordinator of counter-terrorism on Al-Qaeda, resigned from FBI in August 2001 to be the World Trade Center security managing director, and was one of the victims of the 9/11 events.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/culture/morocco_scenery_of/view 
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Nearly 600,000 recipients of micro-credits in Morocco.
Rabat, Oct.26

Some 575,000 people benefit from micro-credits to 460,000 last year, said chairman of the national federation for micro-credit associations (FNAM), Reda Lamrini, noting that Morocco is being cited as an example in regional and international fora in this area. Speaking to the press at the end of a meeting on Tuesday, chaired by Prime Minister, Driss Jettou, on the results of the national micro-credit program, Lamrini announced that Morocco will organise, on November 30 in Marrakech, the first micro-finance forum. The meeting, which gathered members of the national committee of the international year of micro-credit, also considered a project related to the creation of a micro-credit associations' refinancing fund, added Lamrini. The national committee of the international year of micro-credit, presided by Jettou, is formed especially by national and international financial organisms, the World bank, the French development agency (AFD) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/nearly_600000_recip/view 
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Avian flu transmission through food consumption almost nill.

Jalal Nourlil, Specialist in virology in the Pasteur Institute of Casablanca, said that the risk of avian flu transmission through food consumption is almost nill, reported MAP news agency. "The avian flu virus is completely destroyed by the gastric acid when infected products are eaten," Nourlil told Morocco Times on Monday. "The cases of avian flu transmissions from chickens or ducks bought alive from the market occur when the bird is plucked," he added. He said that in order to avoid this problem, the consumer must scald the dead animal before removing its feathers. However, if an animal is infected with avian flu, the breeder must slaughter, restrict transport, and block the zone of infection.

Answering a question on the measures taken to face this problem, Nourlil recalled that the government has taken all efficient measures of control. "Morocco has set up a national plan of preparation and response to any future human disease of avian origins," he said. "A special commission has been set up within the ministry of health and multi-department follow-up and coordination meetings are held regularly to adapt its work in accordance with the reality," he added. He concluded that the Kingdom has started to build a strategic stock of medicines against avian flu and mobilised its resources to buy specific vaccines that are being made at the moment.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/paper/article.asp?idr=2&id=10541 
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Morocco set to foster Amazigh culture via national media.
Rabat, Oct. 25

Morocco is currently looking into means to promote the Amazigh culture, a Berber language spoken by about 60 per cent of the nearly 30 million population in Morocco, by devoting more programs to it in the national media. A joint commission of the Communication Ministry and the Royal Institute for Amazigh Culture (IRCAM) was set up to look into means to integrate this culture in the Moroccan public media.
Communication Minister, Nabil Benabdellah, on Monday described as "positive" the results of the commission, saying, nonetheless, that they are still below aspirations. The role of the media, he said, is crucial in promoting the Amazigh culture, noting that national channels have pledged to play a role in this respect.

Director of IRCAM, Ahmed Boukous, pointed out that his institution aspires to make the Moroccan two main TV channels devote 30pc of their production to the Amazigh culture. Boukous considers that the media allows reaching a large portion of the population and bringing awareness to the Amazigh culture. Morocco had also sought to foster the Amazigh culture through its educational system.
The Amazigh language is presently taught in 350 schools at a pace of three hours per week to some 25,000 children.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/culture/morocco_set_to_foste/view 
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Amazigh culture Prize corroborates Morocco's endeavours to venerate Berber patrimony.
By Oumnia Guedda 10/26/2005

The Royal Institute for the Amazigh Culture (IRCAM) organised Saturday evening in Rabat a show, during which prizes were attributed, to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the State-run body, launched by HM King Mohammed VI in Ajdir, Khenifra. The Merit Prize, worth MAD 70,000, was awarded to the poet Ahmed Mestaoui. The National Prize for Media went to the journalists Hada Ouabou (national radio) and Ibrahim Baoui, managing editor of Al Alam Alamazighi newspaper. The National Translation prize was attributed to Houcine Baâmrani. Another bearing on education was awarded to six candidates, Fadila Boukhmiss, Abdellah Aglaw, Amina Boumajdoub, Ibrahim Ouja, Mohamed Boulemane, Benaissa Outharnout. The Thinker Prize went to Miloud Taifi, while the Prize of Literary creation (50,000) was attributed to the poets Omar Taous and Ahmed Ziani.

The awarding ceremony was marked by the broadcasting of a documentary film featuring IRCAM's future projects. The body was created by a Royal Dahir in October 2001 to revive Berber culture and prepare and monitor the integration of Amazigh into the educational system. In his speech, delivered on Oct. 2001 on the occasion of IRCAM setting up, King Mohammed VI said that "the promotion of the Amazigh is a national responsibility, for no national culture can renounce its historical roots. Besides, a national culture must be open and must reject any isolation, so that it can achieve the development that is so vital to the durability and to the progress of any civilization."

His Majesty said the Royal Institute for the Amazigh Culture will, through the fulfillment of the mission vested on it to preserve and promote the Amazigh culture and consolidate its rank in the national educational, socio-cultural and media space, give a new momentum to this culture as a national richness and a source of pride for all Moroccans. Morocco is currently working to promote the Amazigh culture in the national media, as the Berber language is spoken by over 60 % of the Moroccan population. A joint commission of the Institute and the Communication Ministry has been set up to meet this objective.

The Moroccan Minister of communication, Nabil Benabdellah, described on Monday the results achieved by the commission as "positives", but added they are still below aspirations. The Minister said the role of the media is crucial in promoting the Amazigh culture, noting that national channels have pledged to play a role in this respect. The Director of IRCAM, Ahmed Boukous, affirmed that the institute aims at making the Moroccan two main channels dedicate 30% of their programes to promote Amazigh culture.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/paper/article.asp?idr=49&id=10583 
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Associations appeal for new archaeological site to be saved.

The Association of Graduates from the National Institute for Archaeological Sciences and Heritage (ALINSAP) and the Tadaoul Association for Education and Heritage (Tangiers) have appealed for the recently-discovered site of Dhar Asekfane, near Ksar Sghir, to be saved from destruction and classified, reported MAP news agency on Wednesday. The site was discovered by chance last August during work on a section of the motorway between Tangiers and Oued R'mel. A rescue excavation was organized to evaluate its archaeological value and decide on its fate.

The excavations, undertaken by a team from the National Institute for Archaeological Sciences and Heritage (INSAP), revealed that the site - covering 1.5 hectares - was particularly interesting in that it included four successive occupations: Phoenician, Mauretanian, Roman and Islamic, indicated a report from the ALINSAP.

When founded by the Phoenicians in the 6th century BC, the site overlooked a marshy zone near a river leading to the nearby coast. This is a typical choice of the Phoenicians, who looked for dominant locations with easy access to the interior for their agricultural and trading contacts with the local people combined with a navigable river, explained the archaeologists working on the excavation.

The local Mauretanians followed the Phoenicians from the 5th-2nd century BC. Towards 40 BC, the Romans took over, staying until the 5th century AD. Coins and ceramics indicate a Moslem presence from the 12th-13th century AD. The excavations, going down 60 cm, have brought to light well-preserved Roman remains: pottery, coins, large jars, thermal baths with changing room and cold, tepid and hot rooms. Also revealed was a group of fish-salting basins, supplied by large water reservoirs. During the Roman occupation, the site was fortified by an impressively wide rampart. The main entry to the city was on the south face of the rampart, which contained several towers.

In view of the great importance of the site, the association of INSAP graduates "makes a fervent appeal" to all interested parties for the "protection and exploitation" of the site, announced the same ALINSAP communiqué. The association Tadaoul also underlined that the site has an undeniable archaeological value and is capable of contributing to "the enrichment and diversification of the regional, national and universal heritage, in view of its Mediterranean dimension."

The discovery of this ancient and multi-civilisational site at Ksar Sghir fits into the "historical continuity of the archaeological site of Ksar Al-Majaz (a medieval fort lying a few hundred metres from the site) and thus will be a great advantage for the promotion of cultural tourism in the region", affirmed the Tangiers association in a communiqué pleading for the protection of the site and its classification as a heritage.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/paper/article.asp?idr=49&id=10424 
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Roman ruins yield new data.
By Susan Searight-Martinet 10/21/2005

Continuing their work on remains of the Roman occupation of Morocco, Moroccan archaeologists from the National Institute of Archaeological Sciences and Heritage (INSAP) did not neglect Volubilis, the country's best-known and most important Roman site. Another Roman site, north of Kenitra and not so very far from Volubilis, is Thamusida, and this was also on the INSAP programme. This is the last of a series of five articles based on an exhibition on recent archaeological research in Morocco. The exhibition was held in Rabat at the end of December 2004.

Thamusida

This site, mainly Roman but with a long earlier history, was excavated in the 1930s, 1950s and again in 1959-62. It has recently been the object of a five-year Morocco-Italian project, involving archaeologists from INSAP and Sienna University.

The programme envisaged excavation but also the application and experimentation of non-destructive methods - an excavation inevitably destroying layers as it goes down. The project aimed to reconstruct the history of the town from the first human establishment up to the Islamic period. Magnetometric prospection has in fact revealed a large part of the site's monuments still underground and, consequently, not visible.

The sequence of events at Thamusida was complex. Stone tools, dating from 59,000, 10,000 and 6,000 BC, showed that the hill of the Sidi Ali ben Ahmed marabout in the centre of the site was inhabited in prehistoric times. Then there seems to have been a gap in occupation, since the first recognised village dates to the second half of the 3rd century BC. Bowls and a great many amphora indicated that the inhabitants of Thamusida traded with other centres of the western Mediterranean, especially with Spain and Italy.

In 40 AD, when the Roman province of Mauretania Tingitana was created, the village was destroyed by military operations. An army camp was then built, followed by a small new town. The new settlement had all the usual Roman
requirements: houses, baths and temples. However, the Forum, an important monument in any Roman town, has not yet been found.

For Rome, Thamusida served to control the Empire's frontiers and to manage the agricultural and productive activities of the Gharb. This region was important since it regularly sent great quantities of wheat to Rome (about 1,000 tons a year).

In the second half of the 2nd century AD, the built-up area was surrounded by ramparts. But in the 3rd century AD, the Roman army withdrew, as part of their general policy of retiring from outlying areas. However, the town continued to be occupied. The old walls, which had remained standing until the 18th century, collapsed as a result of the Lisbon earthquake in 1755.

Volubilis

Excavations started here as early as 1915 and have been continued almost every year ever since. The site is often used as part of the training of young archaeologists from the Rabat archaeological institute.

INSAP and University College London's Institute of Archaeology have recently taken up work in the south-west corner of the town. However, the research is not now concerned with Roman times - it concentrates on the post-Roman occupation of the town, evacuated by the Romans at the end of the 3rd century AD. Around 284-285, Rome was forced to abandon its province of Mauretania Tingitana, due to endless pressure from the surrounding tribes.
But the end of the Roman occupation did not mean the end of Volubilis, since the town continued to be inhabited for many centuries.

In this perspective, the current work aims to collect information on the Islamic occupation layers, and to define the Islamic urban characteristics and extent of the medieval town.

The state of conservation of the buildings and the mosaics is also being studied, in order to integrate them in a general site management plan.

Magnetic surveying was carried out on the western part of the site, not far from the ramparts and in the immediate neighbourhood of the Islamic thermal baths. This prospection showed structures oriented differently from the Roman ones, giving rise to reflexions on the urbanisation and occupation of the site during the Islamic period.

Current research also aims at revealing the northern remains of the site, to the north-west of the Triomphal Arch of Caracalla, which show the extent of the town during the Idrissid period, which then occupied the whole of the western zone.

Post-Roman research also revealed an Almoravid occupation in part of the site (D section): a small door was unearthed which gave a clue to this period. The team continued work here, and also on another nearby section (B). More detailed information on this part of the research is awaited.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/paper/article.asp?idr=49&id=10469 
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Voluntary early retirement Intilaka benefited 7.5% of civil servants

Some 38.000 civil servants have benefited from the voluntary early retirement programme Intilaka, said on Thursday Mohammed Boussaid, Moroccan Minister in Charge of Public Sector Modernization. The Minister, speaking at the House of Representatives, noted that "in less than 27 months, the State's budget will get back the sum spent on the indemnities granted to the civil servants who took advantage of the operation."

He explained that MAD 2, 2 billion will be regained in 2005, MAD 5 billion in 2006, and the same amount in 2007. The major aim of the Intilaka operation was to bring down the number of people working in the public sector.

As part of Morocco's economic upgrade programme, and following a series of recommendations issued by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the Moroccan public expenditure had to be made inferior to the state's fiscal revenue. To reach this goal, public authorities have planned to abate the payroll, making it constitute less than 10% of the gross domestic product (GDP). The measures taken to this effect include encouraging early retirement through the much-expected program Intilaka limiting recruitment, and redeploying civil staff.

Boussaid noted that Intilaka operation will not have negative effects on the functioning of public administration. Half of the civil servants who benefited from the programme worked in Rabat and Casablanca, he said, explaining that this solved the problem resulting from the excessive number of public administration employees in Morocco's two biggest cities. But more than 2,181 of those who enjoyed the voluntary departure operation worked in the sector of health care. More than 10% of them were specialists.

The Minister noted, in this regard, that because of overcharged staff in the hospitals of Rabat and Casablanca, each surgeon could practice only one operation every two days. Boussaid said his Ministry will carry on the implementation of its plans to modernise public administration, underlining the significant role human resources can play in the process. The procedures to be taken are evaluating the results of continuing training programmes made available for civil servants, basing nominations for posts of responsibility on precise and objective criteria, and making examinations the groundwork for recruitment.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/Paper/article.asp?idr=5&id=10486 
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