King Mohammed VI addressed, Wednesday, July 29, a Speech to the Nation on the occasion of the 21st anniversary of his enthronement, in a context of the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in Morocco and in the rest of the world.
In his address, the sovereign underlined the sacred union of Moroccans who have set up a covid-19 fund of 33 billion 700 million dirhams (or 3.8 billion euros) in record time. “This sum made it possible to finance social support measures and the purchase of the necessary medical equipment”. In addition, says Mohammed VI, 5 billion dirhams (500 million euros) will be allocated to the Central Guarantee Fund, as part of the economic recovery. “We have guided the government to support the resilience of the affected sectors, to preserve jobs and to support the purchasing power of households without means of subsistence. Despite these measures and despite our efforts to reduce the severity of this health crisis, I say it in all sincerity, the impact will be severe. ”
A daring stimulus policy
About 120 billion dirhams will be injected into the national economy, equivalent to 11% of GDP. “This rate places Morocco among the most daring countries in terms of post-crisis economic recovery policy,” said Mohammed VI, announcing the establishment of a Strategic Investment Fund to fulfill a mission to support activities production, support and financing of large public-private investment projects, in a variety of fields. In addition to the participation of the State, this Fund will have to rely on the coordination and rationalization of the various funding.
A project of social coverage from January 2021
Also, continues King Mohammed VI, “we consider that the time has come to launch, over the next five years, the process of generalizing social coverage for the benefit of all Moroccans”. The gradual deployment of this operation will take place from January 2021, according to a specific action program. This should relate, in the first place, to the generalization of Compulsory Health Insurance (AMO) and family allowances. It will then be extended to other social cover such as retirement and compensation for job loss. “In order for it to directly and fully benefit the beneficiaries, this project requires a rigorous reform of the social systems and programs already in place, in particular through the operationalization of the Unified Social Register (RSU)”, explains King Mohammed VI.
In fact, the generalization of social coverage must become an essential lever for the insertion of the informal sector into the national economic fabric.
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