HIBAPRESS – Oujda
Residents of Oujda find themselves compelled to close their windows and balconies to escape suffocating foul odors that spread many times a week when they least expect it. These odors invade homes and chests without invitation, turning the city's nights into a daily hell that threatens the health and environmental security of the population.
These emissions are no longer just a "passing nuisance" that can be overlooked; they have turned into a continuous environmental crisis plaguing the neighborhoods of the eastern capital. Although these odors sometimes disappear, leading residents to believe they are gone for good, they invariably return at specific times, early in the morning or in the dead of night, casting a disturbing mystery and a real threat to public health.
The crisis does not stop at the external air; it has extended to include complaints in some neighborhoods about odors emanating from sewage pipes, reflecting the sensitivity of the city's environmental situation and the necessity of addressing it at its roots.
In the context of searching for the causes of this environmental disaster, the Unified Socialist Party branch in Oujda, in an alarming video clip, directly pointed fingers at mismanagement issues at the city's public dump, highlighting that the problem of foul odors is linked to administrative and political decisions that raise more than a few questions about governance and transparency.
The same source clarified the details and dimensions of this file in the following aspects:
– Re-awarding the contract to a failed company: Public opinion was surprised by the awarding of the contract to a company that had previously managed the public dump and proven its inefficiency in past periods.
– Black oversight reports: The Regional Court of Accounts had previously issued a negative report documenting explicit excesses and violations in the performance of this company.
– Contradictory withdrawal and approval: Although the Oujda Municipal Council initially rejected the contract, it later reconsidered and approved it again for the same company.
– A 15-year environmental mortgage: A long-term contract extending for 15 years was signed with the same company, which the party considered a mortgage on the environmental future and the healthy breathing of the city and its residents.
The streets of Oujda and civil society organizations are demanding a swift and responsible action that combines environmental and structural solutions, by opening a transparent investigation into the circumstances of awarding the public dump contract and reviewing long-term contracts that do not take environmental conditions into account, activating oversight and inspection mechanisms on emission sources, sewage networks, and the public dump, and then developing an integrated strategy for waste management and landfills that guarantees citizens' constitutional right to a healthy environment and clean air.
