Rabat – Morocco’s Federation of the Democratic Left proposed that 4 percent of the government budget be devoted to the education sector.
While in the House of Representatives, only two parliamentarians, the authors of the proposal, raised their hands in approval, the Moroccan public showed a great support for the proposal on social media. The Federation answered by asking the supporters to remain loyal during the elections.
The social media campaign led by the FDG called on the government to increase appropriations to education through pictures taken with the proposal’s advocates raising their hand in support. The pictures were accompanied with a hashtag that read, “Raise Your Hand and Support Education.”
Contacted by Morocco World News, Omar Balafrej, leader of the FDG said, “I thank those who have shown the FDG support, but I’m asking them to remain loyal to the federation, not like what they did in the previous campaign. People showed us support on Facebook, yet few voted for the FGD in the elections.”
The parliamentarian added that the federation’s supporters must vote for the FDG in the next election and register as candidates in the local elections five years from now so the FDG can continue demanding the public’s rights.
The 4 Percent Budget Is Reasonable
Omar Balafrej and Mustapha Chennaoui, two deputies of the Democratic Left Federation, presented to the House of Representatives a set of nine amendments to the 2017 Finance Bill to enrich the country’s educational sector.
“Reality is, education in Morocco suffers from many deficiencies. The program the FDG proposed is, indeed, true to the federation’s principles, but it is also reasonable and applicable,” asserted Balafrej.
This year’s reform proposed by the FDG suggested transferring 4 percent of the budget from various ministries and institutions, except for the budget allocated for human resources, the King’s institutions, and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.“If this reform was to be carried out, it would result in MAD three billion that could be invested in the educational sector this year,” explained Balafrej to Morocco World News.
The FDG also proposed a 35% tax on big companies as well asa tax on wealth, starting 0.1% percent for a fortune worth between MAD 5 million and MAD10 million, which according to Balafrej is very reasonable. “Those who own a fortune estimated at MAD 1 billion would pay MAD 10 thousand per year, a very sensible tax.”
Mister Minister Boussaid, You Know Nothing
Minister of the Economy and Finance, Mohamed Boussaid, criticized the two deputies’ proposal, saying that such measures could frighten investors and push the country’s GDP backwards.
Asked about his opinion on the Minister’s response, Balafrej said, “of course, those who do not know how to answer, answer in such a way. Instead of giving me a tangible answer, he kept on speaking empty words.”
“For example, Boussaid answered the FDG saying that the tax on heritage , suggested by the FDG, gets into the way of religious principles, while tax legislation in Morocco mentions a tax on heritage. Well, if that causes a religious problem, why don’t they eliminate it?”
The deputy kept commenting on the issue saying that “this goes to show that those against the reform would go as far as to bring up religion to create a barrier. We are all Muslim in this country, but what we need now is solidarity.”
