Morocco’s Government Council approved on Thursday a bill, that removes citizen debts for regions of the Kingdom.
Rabat- Called Bill 96.18, the measure concerns an amount of MAD 1,559 million. The law, presented by the Minister of Interior Abdelouafi Laftit, will allow for the cancellation of debts that citizens owed before the year 2000. The law applies to debts that do not exceed MAD 50,000, however.
Speaking on Thursday at a press briefing after the council, Mustapha El Khalfi, Minister Delegate for Relations with Parliament and Civil Society and Government Spokesman, said that the measure will reach more than 1.2 million citizens, 88 percent of whom are low-income citizens.
The plan is part of a series of measures provided for in the 2019 Finance Act, according to El Khalfi. He explained that the new initiative would support efforts to improve citizens’ living conditions.
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Morocco’s public external debt reached nearly MAD 332.35 billion (about $36 billion) at the end of the first quarter of 2018, compared to about $34 billion one quarter earlier, according to a report from the Treasury and External Finance Department (DTFE).