The SUDEP South participating municipality of Kenitra, has given a step ahead towards energy efficiency and has unblocked the contractual burdens faced on the implementation of the SUDEP South project in the Moroccan city. This has been possible with the technical assistance of the SUDEP South Support Mechanism. Naceur Hammami, Team Leader of this EU funded project, has organized and coordinated a meeting on February 20^th at the European Union Delegation in Morocco aiming at bringing together the municipality represented by Mr. Aziz El Guermat, deputy mayor of Kenitra. The meeting lead to a fruitful and constructive discussion that concluded with the commitment of the Municipality of Kenitra to continue working on objectives and results expected for this EU contract. It is foreseen that the municipality signs an addendum to the contract with the EU Delegation in the upcoming days, therefore having an extension on the period of implementation of the project.

A second meeting was held at the premises of the Ministry of Energy, the team leader of SUDEP South was received by Mr. Azziz Rabbah, Minister of Energy, Mines and Sustainable Development and Mayor of Kenitra and Mr. Aziz El Guermat. The Minister expressed the commitment of Morocco with sustainable development projects, particularly at the levels of Kenitra and Chefchaouen. For Mr. Rabbah, these initiatives are important lessons learned that could be replicated on other Moroccan municipalities, therefore “the importance of a close cooperation with the European Union”. The Minister has emphasized the importance of national and regional strategies, having into account the limited resources and capacities of municipalities, in order to start and implement energy efficiency projects at local level.

Representatives of the EUDEL Morocco visited, together with Mr. Hammami, Chefchaouen, the other Moroccan city participating in the SUDEP South project. This field visit organized by SUDEP South aimed at showcasing the results of this project that has managed sustainable follow up initiatives to be developed by their citizens.

The SUDEP-South project began in early 2015 with 12 cities in 6 countries of the southern Mediterranean. The objective of the SUDEP Programme is to assist local authorities in responding to the sustainable energy challenges and to enable them to implement sustainable energy actions leading to energy savings, energy efficiency and more use of renewable energy sources such as solar energy.

SUDEP support mechanism activities are mainly focused on:

1.      Assistance to local authorities and reinforcing their capacities and their partners in the implementation of the demonstration projects.

2.      Promotion for the replication of innovative actions and the visibility of the programme’s results.

3.      Creation of an enabling environment for the exchange of good practices between project beneficiaries.

4.      And finally the development of their own local strategies to ensure widespread dissemination and sustainability of their projects.