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The «Appeal of Tata» Committee filed a lawsuit with the Administrative Court of Rabat against the Moroccan State, represented by the head of government, Aziz Akhannouch, demanding that Tata be declared a disaster area after the floods of recent weeks. A favorable ruling will allow the affected populations to obtain compensation.
Rachid Elbelghiti, the coordinator of the committee, announced on his social media that this legal action was «the first of its kind in Morocco». It is led by Mohamed Lahbib Ben Chikh, a member of the committee and a lawyer at the Rabat bar, along with dozens of his colleagues at the national level. The complaint is filed on behalf of two civil society organizations that are signatories to the Appeal of Tata: the Iffous Forum, a local NGO, and the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), a national organization with public utility status.
According to the same source, this procedure constitutes «an essential link in the advocacy framework» of the committee, a few days before the local consultation sessions scheduled for Saturday, 26th, and Sunday, 27th October in the southern region.
The complaint points out that the province of Tata experienced «a serious disaster on September 21 and 22, 2024, with floods and torrential rains that led to the death of many citizens, both men and women, as well as significant material damage, personal and public property damage, and the destruction of infrastructure and oases». It lists the losses deplored in the city of Tata and in many communes of the region.
The ball is in the government's court
The complaint recalls that the government has previously approved an insurance system against the consequences of natural disasters. Promulgated in 2016, Law 110.14 establishes a system for covering the consequences of catastrophic events and modifies and supplements Law 17.99 on the Insurance Code in this area.
With reference to these provisions, the plaintiffs add that this law considers floods, rising waters, and the rise in the level of underground and surface water, as well as the collapse of dams due to natural forces, in addition to earthquakes, tidal surges, and terrorist acts with direct consequences of the occurrence of riots or popular movements, as catastrophic events.
The most important condition to qualify an incident as catastrophic, within the meaning of Law 110.14, and thus provide for appropriate compensation, is that the facts be the subject of a decision rendered by the head of government within a period not exceeding three months from the date of the events in question. In this sense, the plaintiffs request «a decision qualifying the Tata floods as a natural disaster, so that the impacted populations can benefit from the system of coverage against the consequences of catastrophic events».
Before filing the complaint, the «Appeal of Tata» Committee met with the Socialist parliamentary group of the House of Representatives, the Secretary General of the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS), Mohamed Nabil Benabdellah, union activists, representatives of flood victims in the region, and local civil society actors.
