Alawite President Aziz Akhannouch will press ahead with his commitment to a programme for the generalisation of social protection at the meeting of the Council of Government on Wednesday

Marruecos continúa avanzando en la senda de la protección social

photo_camera PHOTO/ARCHIVO - Nadia Fettah Alaoui, Morocco's Minister of Economy and Finance in the government of Aziz Ajanuch, the first woman to hold this post in the history of Morocco

The Moroccan head of government has issued a statement announcing the objectives of Wednesday's meeting of the Council of Government. In order to continue implementing social legislation, four decrees related to the social protection project are expected to be ratified during the session chaired by the president, Aziz Akhannouch. 

As reported by the Arabic media Al-ain News, the meeting will begin with a presentation by the Minister Delegate of the Ministry of Economy and Finance in charge of the budget, who will present the situation of the reform of the generalisation of social protection. The Council will then discuss six draft decrees on the implementation of the social programme, including the first one on the implementation of the laws on the compulsory health insurance system and on the creation of a pension scheme for the self-employed, entrepreneurs and non-salaried groups engaged in private activity.

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In addition to this decree - and in relation to the regulations it contains - four other decrees will be added, relating to the annexes adopted for the application of these laws, Article 73 on tax rates of the Moroccan General Tax Code, and the persons subject to the unified professional contribution system, among others.  Finally, the Governing Council is expected to consider the creation of a ministerial committee to lead and organise the social reform. 

In this way, the head of the Moroccan government is continuing the strategy of generalising social protection announced by King Mohammed VI last April, which aims to deal with the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis and the drought of 2020. The programme, which will last for five years, will mobilise a total of some 245 billion Moroccan dirhams (around 23 billion euros), according to the Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fattah Al-Alawi, and will focus on several axes. 

Among the central points of the initiative is the generalisation of compulsory health insurance, which is expected to include some 22 million additional beneficiaries such as the self-employed, needy groups and non-salaried workers. It will also extend the provision of economic allowances and subsidies to families, broaden the base of those enrolled in the pension system - by 2025 - and implement, for the first time, unemployment compensation. 

All these social protection proposals are being developed within the framework of the New Development Model, through which Rabat aims to boost economic growth and reduce social inequalities, and which has earned the country the recognition and support of the World Bank.

The will of the new government 

When he came to power last October, during the presentation of the new government programme, Moroccan President Aziz Akhannouch acknowledged that the crisis caused by Covid-19 had "uncovered the extent of the informal economy, the shortcomings of the social sectors and the weakness of the social security systems". For this reason, one of the main promises made by the Maghrebi leader in his speech was the creation of nearly one million new jobs, as well as the guarantee of social protection, for which the increase in public spending would be a "crucial measure to reactivate the economy", according to Minister Fattah Al-Alawi at a press conference.

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On the other hand, one of the main challenges they face is the accession of the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) to the Moroccan Health Insurance Fund, which - according to the instructions of King Mohammed VI - would guarantee the generalisation of social services and benefits. For his part, President Akhannouch has pledged to set up a register to support social assistance programmes and to determine precisely which people are most in need of help.

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