Action plan – Tangier – Tetouan – Al-Hoceima, Morocco, 2021 – 2023

At-a-Glance

Duration

Nov 2023

Date Submitted

30th July 2021

Foreword(s)

The Regional Council of Tangier Tetouan Al-Hoceima (TTA RC) is deeply honored to join the local OGP program. The overall objective is to achieve greater development, prosperity and stability in the northern region of Morocco. The specific objectives, that will be achieved through OGP, are: improving citizen participationAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, citizen participation occurs when “governments seek to mobilize citizens to engage in public debate, provide input, and make contributions that lead to m... More through communication and public consultation, promoting budget transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More and the OGP values and principals, and developing social inclusionOGP participating governments are working to create governments that truly serve all people. Commitments in this area may address persons with disabilities, women and girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, tr... More strategies. Our goal is to work with citizens and civil society organizations to implement these actions. Our aim, by joining this esteemed community, is also to actively exchange best practices and lessons learned with other participating jurisdictions.

The 2021-2023 action plan is the fruit of a participatory and an inclusive consultative process that started in March 2020.

In May 2020, an online consultative platform was launched enabling the citizens to submit their ideas and policy proposals. Meanwhile, the TTA RC, in coordination with Civil Society representatives, were leading a series of consultative workshops across the region covering all the provinces of the region. Four workshops were organized, in which 60 CSOs have actively participated. The proposals have been translated into an action plan project. In October 2020, the TTA RC has officially been accepted to join local OGP. From that time onwards, the TTA RC has been refining the action plan in close collaboration with its technical leads involved in all the commitments areas. In June 2021, a meeting was organized with the Moroccan Ministry of Economy and Finance, in charge of the national program. The objective was to ensure synergy and alignment between the two 2021-2023 action plans.  In July 2021, a final online conference was organized with more than 20 CSOs to present and validate the action plan.

The RC TTA and civil society representatives are keen to work together to implement and monitor this ambitious action plan.

Open Government Challenges, Opportunities and Strategic Vision

This subsection details the Open Government Strategic Vision in your local area that should guide the commitments for the action plan period.

What is the long-term vision for open government in your context and jurisdiction?

The RC’s  long-term vision for open government can be summarized in the  the following areas:

• Promoting the values of transparency and empowerment of citizens;
• Contributing to building strong examples of successful regional institutions;
• Consolidating good governance and transparency in the region harnessing the positive power of technology;
• Building the capacities of elected members, staff and civil society organisations (CSOs) involved in the regional development process;
• Strengthening coordination with other tiers of local government and public administration at the national and regional level;
• Learning from other OGP members and exchanging experiences; and
• Strengthening the position of the region in multilateral and bilateral cooperation with international donors and international organisations.

What are the achievements in open government to date (for example, recent open government reforms)?

The recent significant reforms led by the Moroccan government in open government is the implementation of the very ambitious program of simplification of administrative procedures and the launch of:   https://www.idarati.ma , the implementation of the National Program for dematerialization of public procurement, and the enactment of the Law of access to information N31-13 and the National Portal of Access to information https://Chafafiya.ma

What are the current challenges/areas for improvement in open government that the jurisdiction wishes to tackle?

TTA region commits itself to work on the following policy areas:

• Open dataBy opening up data and making it sharable and reusable, governments can enable informed debate, better decision making, and the development of innovative new services. Technical specifications: Polici...
• GenderOGP participating governments are bringing gender perspectives to popular policy areas, ensuring diversity in participatory processes, and specifically targeting gender gaps in policies to address gov... More and Social inclusion: The RC is committed to move towards an inclusive and open region keen on rehabilitating marginalized communities by the effective implementation of its Regional Gender and Social Inclusion Strategy (RGSI).
• Public procurementTransparency in the procurement process can help combat corruption and waste that plagues a significant portion of public procurement budgets globally. Technical specifications: Commitments that aim t... More: The RC wishes to increase the transparency of their public spending through an  “Open-contracting” digital platform. This includes CSOs participation, citizen engagement and the creation of accountability mechanisms for receiving and acting upon citizen feedback.
• Citizen participation: for an increased and better civic participation, the RC wants to reinforce participatory democracy and public consultation mechanisms in the region.

What are the medium-term open government goals that the government wants to achieve?

The TTA RC wants to achieve the following medium-term goals:

• Greater citizen participation, local government accountability and responsiveness.
• Contributing to achieving equal opportunities for migrants to access health services.
• Contributing to alleviating inequalities in accessing economic opportunities for migrant and reducing social and economic disparities between rural and urban women.
• Providing the conditions for a suitable safe environment for children across the TTA region.
• Enabling access to reliable information to inform decision-makers
• Measuring the implementation progress of the projects and assessing its impact on the territory and on the target populations.
• Greater citizen participation in the decision-making process and involvement in monitoring and evaluating of regional policies and programs.
• Achieving local development success by harnessing the power of “collective intelligence” and “territorial intelligence”.
• The RC reduces the risks of audit deficiencies in public expenditure by respecting the standards.
• The RC boosts its efficiency in managing public expenditure through digitalization.
• The RC implements open procurement
• The regional actors adhere to OGP values

How does this action plan contribute to achieve the Open Government Strategic Vision?

This action plan contributes to achieve the Open Government Strategic Vision through:

1. The promotion of OGP values and practices.
2. The promotion of collaborative and participatory processes with civil society.
3. The implementation of inclusive programming targeting vulnerable categories of society.
4. The advancement of the open data and the right to access to information.

How does the open government strategic vision contribute to the accomplishment of the current administration’s overall policy goals?

The current administration policy goals are in  line with the open government strategic vision. The reforms led by all the actors at the regional level pave the way towards greater implementation of OGP principles and values.

Engagement and Coordination in the Open Government Strategic Vision and OGP Action Plan

Please list the lead institutions responsible for the implementation of this OGP action plan.

• The Regional Council of Tangier Tetouan Al Hoceima (TTA RC)

What kind of institutional arrangements are in place to coordinate between government agencies and departments to implement the OGP action plan?

The TTA RC is the lead institution responsible for the implementation of the OGP action plan. The TTA RC will closely work with civil society representatives to implement some actions of the action plan.

What kind of spaces have you used or created to enable the collaboration between government and civil society in the co-creation and implementation of this action plan? Mention both offline and online spaces.

The TTA RC has used the online co-creation platform to collect ideas and proposals from citizens in the co-creation phase. It has also organized four face-to-face workshops covering all the provinces of the region and a final online conference to validate the action plan.

The TTA RC is also considering the idea of establishing a civil society forum, as it is a recommended practice by the OGP. In this regards, an update will be sent to OGP once there is a new administration (the current mandate of the RC is expected to end in September 2021).

What measures did you take to ensure diversity of representation (including vulnerable or marginalized populations) in these spaces?

The TTA RC has taken all the necessary measures to ensure diversity by collaborating during the co-creation phase with CSOs that represent all categories including vulnerable and marginalized populations (migrants, people with disabilitiesA government is not open unless it is accessible to all, and governments are working to ensure people with disabilities are afforded equitable services and opportunities to participate. Technical spec..., women in difficult situations…).

Who participated in these spaces?

CSOs representing these areas:

• PWD
• Migration
• Gender
• Environment
• YouthRecognizing that investing in youth means investing in a better future, OGP participating governments are creating meaningful opportunities for youth to participate in government processes. Technical ... More

How many groups participated in these spaces?

80

How many public-facing meetings were held in the co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive...?

04

How will government and non-governmental stakeholders continue to collaborate through the implementation of the action plan?

The TTA RC will continue to collaborate with civil society through face-to-face follow up meetings if possible, or through online meetings to monitor the progress (according to the pandemic situation).

Please describe the independent Monitoring Body you have identified for this plan.

The Consultative Body (CB) of Civil Society will be the Independent Monitoring Body for the 2021-2023 action plan.

This mechanism has been established as stipulated in the Organic Law of regionalization in Morocco (Law 111.14).

The CB of civil society that counts 35 members is a network of associations representing all the provinces of the region (35 associations have been selected out of 583 applicant associations).

Provide the contact details for the independent monitoring body.

• Nezha Louzari, The Consultative Body vice-president, Louzarinezha7@gmail.com

What types of activities will you have in place to discuss progress on commitments with stakeholders?

-Face-to-face workshops

-Online follow-up meetings

-Other public forums

How will you regularly check in on progress with implementing agencies?

N/A

How will you share the results of your monitoring efforts with the public?

Through the TTA RC Website and social media, and in the future in the regional portal for OGP (this is part of the commitments).

Endorsement from Non-Governmental Stakeholders