PR TIMES AFRICA PR TIMES AFRICA Magazine june 2015 | Page 24

Fatima Zahra
Mansouri
A metaphor for change in a society
perceived as conservative
“People were surprised to see a young woman
like me elected, I realized people were hungry
for change. When you are mayor, you have real
power, I could make you rich or poor, if I
didn't have a conscience.”
T
he perception of an Arab woman in the
west, is usually one of restrictions and
subservience yet the Mayor of Marrakech,
Morocco's third largest city, is the complete opposite
of this. In a world dominated by men she has
managed to carve a name for herself while
managing to convince the world around her to
accept her as such. Few personify the change that
Africa yearns for better than this French educated
lawyer, turned politician who won the Mayoral
seat, in the year 2009, at the tender age of 33. She
ran a campaign unprecedented, both in style and
impact, in the whole of North Africa, hitting
sidewalks and asking locals what their grievances
and expectations were of their leaders.
Upon assumption of office, ran an approach that
differed from her predecessors' holding meetings
with citizens weekly and tackling head on the
citizen's property developers who had been subjects
of corruption allegations when obtaining permits
from city council. Not one to give up on strongly
held beliefs, it was reported On 7 July 2011 that
Mansouri had turned in her resignation to the city
council. It was speculated that the cause was
pressure from her deputy Hamid Nargis to accept
his decisions. Mansouri had also threatened to leave
PAM, apparently due to an internal struggle over
authority within the party. Also, some of the
reforms she had made to the city organization and
hiring practices may have offended vested interests.
The news caused a stir, but Mansouri was back at
her office on the next day. It was reported that she
had received guarantees of non-interference in
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VOL 1. JULY 2015
exchange for agreeing not to resign.
Mansouri's fight against corruption has yielded
much visible results as the city which hitherto had
budgets deficits of about $90million has turned a
corner and now has over $130million in surplus,
while its major source of income – tourism – has
continued to grow despite the April, 2011 suicide
bomb explosion on Marrakech's central Djemaa el
Fna Square, in a café popular with Western tourists.
Africa is wrongly seen as a continent largely
incapable of self-governance but the likes of Fatima
Zahra Mansouri remain unshakeable evidence
against such flawed arguments, while serving as
mentors to the next generation of African women
and young men. For the many who will follow after
her in leadership positions, they will be less
encumbered by limiting beliefs that their dreams
cannot find fulfillment even right here on the
continent.
1ST EDITION
PR TIMES AFRICA