HIBAPRESS – A. Mahyaoui
Despite its strategic geographical location, which is in the center of Morocco between Fez and Errachidia, and despite its natural and economic potential, the city of Midelt still lives at a slow developmental pace, placing it in the category of forgotten cities that have not yet been able to join the real development process.
Years, even decades, have passed, and the city remains stagnant. Faces change, slogans rise during election campaigns, and the same promises are repeated at every deadline, before they evaporate as soon as the glow of the ballot boxes fades. A scene that has become familiar to the population, which is still waiting for structured projects that change its reality instead of temporary sedatives and patches that do not withstand the first test.
Most of the initiatives that are promoted are summarized in some superficial improvements to the facade, while the fundamental problems remain unresolved, according to the residents: the absence of organized public transport, the scarcity of recreational spaces, the weakness of the health infrastructure, and the lack of higher education institutions and institutes that attract young people and provide them with academic training within their city.
Local civil society activists say that the regional hospital, which is supposed to be the pillar of health services, is only heard about during seasonal medical campaigns or official visits, but on normal days, the scene is different: limited resources, a shortage of equipment, and a patient path that often ends with them being transferred to other cities.
The same activists explain that the roads also tell part of the story, with their holes and cracks, and the scene of accumulated waste in some neighborhoods, in addition to the absence of economic projects capable of driving the wheel of development and creating job opportunities for young people, many of whom leave towards other cities in search of a better future.
The most bitter, according to the same sources, is that part of the local capital is invested outside the city, as if Midelt is no longer an attractive land for investment, but rather has become a starting point towards other places that provide the conditions for success that it has lacked for years, adding that with every attempt to knock on the door of objective criticism, voices are met with accusations or treason, instead of opening a serious discussion about the reality and finding collective solutions that restore the city and its residents.
The same sources point out that Midelt is not looking for the impossible, but only demands its right to fair development, decent services, and real qualification that reflects what it deserves. Development that is not limited to facades, but extends to the core, asking: "Where is public transport? Where are the universities and institutes? Where are the real health services? Where are the projects that respect the aspirations of the population?"
And until the real answers are heard, Midelt will continue to raise its hands to pray… May the dawn come that is not postponed by promises.
