King Mohammed VI has unveiled a roadmap to overcome the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, stressing the need to pool all efforts to boost the country’s economy and foster social protection as the health crisis has shown a number of deficiencies, affected economy and the job market.
In his opening speech of the Parliament’s autumn session made on Friday via videoconference due to covid-19, the Monarch said the ambitious economic stimulus plan is currently the top priority to support agriculture, industry, tourism, SMEs….
This plan, which seeks to create jobs and preserve sources of income, should be implemented through a partnership between the State and economic & social partners, he said.
More than 20,000 Moroccan businesses have benefited from state-guaranteed loans totaling $2.8 billion, which helped the beneficiaries mitigate adverse impact of Covid-19 and preserve jobs, recalled the Sovereign.
The economic stimulus plan is based on the strategic investment fund, renamed “Mohammed VI Investment Fund”, explained the Monarch, noting that $ 1.6 billion will be injected in this fund which will play a key role in promoting investment and boosting the Kingdom’s economy.
The fund will support the restructuring of industry, innovation, high-potential sectors, small and medium-sized enterprises, infrastructure, agriculture and tourism, added the King, saying that agriculture and rural development should be included in the economic recovery plan.
These measures should boost investment, promote employment and contribute to the development of agricultural production, generate two additional GDP percentage points annually, affirmed the Sovereign.
He also called for the expansion of the social welfare and health coverage to include all Moroccans by the end of 2022, a universal access to family allowances, a pension scheme for workers with no retirement plan and a universal access to unemployment protection insurance.
This landmark societal project should be the object of a broad consultation with all partners with a view of setting up a unified authority in charge of all social welfare schemes, said the King, calling on all national institutions and stakeholders, particularly Parliament, to rise to the challenge and to be mindful of people’s aspirations.
