Fouzi Lekjaa has called for work on a highway between Guercif and Nador to be speeded up, saying the province needs a direct link to the Nador West Med port and the investment expected around it.
Campaigning for PAM in Guercif on Tuesday, Lekjaa said the new port could open up opportunities across the Oriental but argued that Guercif would need better roads to benefit from them.
“Our region is going to have a port on the Mediterranean, a port that will be on the same level as Tangier, or even a little bigger,” he told the gathering.
He called for work to be accelerated on “the highway that needs to be accelerated to bring this province out of isolation”, saying it would make it easier to move people and goods between Guercif and the coast.
Lekjaa also called for further work on industrial zones already set up in Guercif, saying they should bring more investment and jobs for young people.
“We must continue developing the industrial zones already established in this province so that young people can benefit from the investments being made there,” he said.
He said the Mediterranean coast could also bring more investment and tourism projects to the Oriental.
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Hospitals were another complaint.
Lekjaa said patients from across the region were being sent to Oujda University Hospital because provincial hospitals were either unable to meet demand or were not working as they should.
“Today, we have a university hospital in Oujda, but in the eight provinces of the Oriental region, we have provincial hospitals that are either insufficient or not functioning properly,” he said.
“When we all come to Oujda, this university hospital is overcrowded and its services are under pressure.”
He called for better services at provincial hospitals so that patients did not have to travel to Oujda for treatment.
“Healthcare is not only about allowing Moroccan citizens to find treatment. We must also guarantee their dignity,” he said.
During Fouzi Lekjaa’s speech in Guercif on September 15, 2026.
For farmers in Guercif, Lekjaa said the problem was water.
“The real problem facing agriculture and farmers is guaranteeing them water,” he said.
He proposed building small dams to store surface water or studying whether the province could be supplied from the planned Nador desalination plant.
“Either we build small dams that create a reserve and preserve it, or we reach an agreement on the desalination plant. But, obviously, the necessary studies must be carried out,” he said.
Lekjaa later took the campaign to Taourirt, where he called for more rural roads and better access to basic services.
“In rural areas, things are even worse,” he said.
He said better roads were needed not only to connect villages but also to allow people to get to work and farmers to take their produce to market.
“For people to be able to go to work and get their goods onto the roads, rural roads must necessarily be developed,” he said.
Lekjaa also repeated PAM’s pledge to raise the minimum pension to MAD3,000 and provide direct aid of up to MAD1,000 to eligible households.
He said beneficiaries who found formal employment should not immediately lose the assistance.
“If you go to work and you are registered, I will not take away your 1,000 dirhams,” he said.
At another stop in Aghbal, Lekjaa told residents that politicians should not turn up only when they need votes.
“We cannot come one week before the elections, take people’s votes and go back to Rabat,” he said. “We need a new political practice.”
He pledged to return after the election and meet residents in neighborhoods, villages and cafés to hear their problems.
“I will return to this province,” he said.
Lekjaa also called for more young people to enter politics and said tourism could create more jobs in the region.
By 2031, he said, people should no longer be asking politicians to deal with the same problems in healthcare, roads and other basic services.
“We do not want to keep talking about the same things, healthcare, roads and basic problems,” he said.
Lekjaa ended by asking supporters to vote on September 23.
“To succeed in this work, you need to place your trust in us through your vote,” he said.
