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Rabat- Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani has asked Moroccans to “stop being gloomy and unrealistic” about the economy despite problems such as poverty, unemployment, and high fuel prices.
During a parliament session at Morocco’s House of Representatives on Monday, July 23, El Othmani said that while there is poverty, it is decreasing, according to Morocco’s High Commission for Planning (HCP) in charge of economic, demographic, and social statistics.
El Othmani affirmed that Morocco’s economic growth reached 4.1 percent in 2017, a notable improvement from the 1.1 percent growth rate in 2016, thanks to better performance in tourism, agriculture, and manufacturing sectors.
“Yes, there are problems, but there is no crisis, and the Moroccan economy is in good condition,” El Othmani insisted.
The problem of fuel prices is a priority
El Othmani affirmed that the government’s utmost priority is to overcome the challenges facing the country’s economy, such as the high fuel prices and protecting consumers’ purchasing power.
Since fuel deregulation in 2015, during Abdelilah Benkirane’s government, some fuel companies doubled their profits as fuel prices were allowed to vary with market trends.
According to the chairman of the House of Representatives’ Finance Committee, Abdellah Bouanou, the difference between the government’s regulated fuel prices and the unregulated prices is nearly MAD 1 per liter.
With the ongoing boycott, consumers are enraged by the rise in fuel prices, especially those of Afriquia, which owns more gas stations in the country than any other oil company.
Crude oil prices across the world have also been rising. In early July, they were at their highest since late 2014.
The government has taken measures to find a solution to the high fuel prices by requesting companies to narrow their profit margins.
In addition to that, the government is making efforts to end high prices and market monopolization in general. El Othmani said that every country’s economy has its problems, nevertheless they should not be “exaggerated.”
Problem of unemployment
Despite the increase in the unemployment rate in the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the employment rate has improved in recent months.
El Othmani pointed out that the country created only 86 job positions in 2017.
According to research group BMI’s recent report, Morocco would need to create 115,000 additional jobs each year and maintain all current employment opportunities to maintain the current workforce participation rate of 47 percent.
El Othmani also firmly defended Morocco’s education system described as lacking by social critics who have called on the Moroccan cabinet to improve it.
If there is an issue in the system, it should not “lead us to dismiss the role of Moroccan schools. It is our speech that harms schools,” El Othmani said. He called on parliamentarians to contribute to the reform of education in Morocco.
