Very expected, the speech of king Mohammed VI marking the 21st anniversary of his accession to the throne, Wednesday 29 July, has been the occasion of important announcements so that the kingdom continues to fight against the spread of Covid-19. And the least we can say is that Mohammed VI has hit hard. The goal : mitigate the impact of the global health crisis on the economic and social conditions. From his palace in Tetouan, the king has given specific solutions to put his purpose in execution. It should be noted that, as early as 20 march, the moroccan government has declared a state of sanitary emergency, extended until 10 August, and has imposed containment: strict and generalized. If, since June 11, the life slowly resumes its course, the multiplication of the foci of contamination has prompted the authorities to isolate approximately eight cities. The kingdom should know by 2020 in its worst recession since 1996, with a contraction of more than 5 % of its GDP, a result of the pandemic and of a low farm yield lack of rain, according to the central bank of morocco. There is therefore an urgent need to take measures to limit the impact of the health crisis on the socio-economic health of the country.
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120 billion dirhams to get out of the crisis
To quickly restart the economic machine, the king has taken the commitment to create a strategic investment fund. “About 120 billion dirhams will be invested in the national economy, the equivalent of 11 % of GDP. The rate listed Morocco among the countries with the most daring policy of economic recovery post-crisis, ” said the king in his speech, after paying tribute to Moroccans mobilised in the face of the pandemic. Indeed, in making the announcement, Mohammed VI recognizes that there is still much to do.
Morocco is experiencing just such an increase in contamination since the easing of the harsh measures of containment. This means even long weeks of mobilization of health personnel, civilians and soldiers, but also all the other forces involved in the fight against the Covid-19. In order to meet the conditions of success of this plan, the king of Morocco has recommended that ” the membership effective and accountable government, social actors and economic operators within a framework contract and constructive, which will be equal to the challenges of the moment and the expectations of the Moroccans “.
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the site of the social security coverage open next year
Another measure strong, and the monarch, age 56, has pleaded for a profound reform of the public sector, which, according to him, must be launched with a “due diligence” to correct the structural dysfunctions of institutions and public undertakings, ensure complementarity and coherence is optimal between their respective missions and, ultimately, enhance economic efficiency and social “. It had been almost two years that the king is engaged in a vast movement of transformation of Morocco. In these last two speeches from the throne, he had given the kick-off to important social and economic reforms for more inclusion.
This 30 July, Mohammed VI called to go further, particularly on the coverage of social protection. He wants to generalize “for the benefit of all Moroccans” in the course of the next five years. “The time has come to launch, over the next five years, the process of generalization of social security coverage for the benefit of all Moroccans,” said the king in his first televised speech since the onset of the pandemic in Morocco, in mid-march.
This project will be rolled out from January next year, starting with the ” generalization of the compulsory health insurance (AMO) and family allowances “, and will be expanded to ” the retirement and compensation for loss of employment “, he added. According to him, the crisis related to the pandemic, “has highlighted a number of deficiencies, “including” the weakness of the social protection networks ” to “the fringes of the population in a situation of great precariousness” in this country of 35 million people.
According to the High-Commissariat au plan (HCP), responsible for official statistics, the average monthly income has fallen by half during the confinement. The most affected are the poor and the workers in the informal sector, while only one-quarter of working-age people were able to benefit from public aid. A large number of families have been thrown into misery because of the economic impact of the health crisis, coupled with a major drought.
The establishment of a system of social aid for the most deprived, on the basis of a social record unified inspired by the indian model, is referred to since 2013. But the project was delayed for political considerations. A bill is pending consideration in the Parliament.
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