Rebuilding slow in Morocco a year after deadly quake

Rabat (AFP) – Reconstruction has been slow in the year since a deadly earthquake struck Morocco's High Atlas region, with only a fraction of the damaged homes rebuilt, authorities said.

More than 55,000 permits have been issued but just 1,000 homes have so far been rebuilt, the authorities said this week.

They urged those affected to "speed up their work to be able to benefit" from the financial aid available.

Such grants are conditional, however, on obtaining the necessary permits, technical studies and validation by a project manager of the various phases of construction.

Last month villagers in Talat N'Yaaqoub near the epicentre took to the streets to demand "the speedy unblocking of aid, non-compliant alternatives (to traditional building methods) and medical facilities", a representative said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"A large number of victims are still living in tents or have been forced to leave their villages and rent elsewhere," Mohamed Belhassen told AFP in another village, Amizmiz, some 60 kilometres from Marrakesh.

He criticised what he called the "dismal failure" of reconstruction efforts.

In the Taroudant region some 60 kilometres from Agadir things are little better.

"The situation hasn't changed much," said Siham Azeroual, who founded an NGO to help villagers in the North African country hit by the quake.

"Reconstruction is proceeding very slowly," she said. Quake victims "are exhausted, and find themselves caught up in an administrative spiral".

Nearly 58,000 people affected by the quake have received the first of four instalments of state aid of up to 140,000 dirhams ($14,500) but just 939 families have received the final payment.

The authorities say monthly grants to more than 63,800 affected families of 2,500 dirhams ($260) have also been made.

An $11-billion aid programme over five years has also been released for reconstruction and developement in the six provinces affected.