Rabat – The Moroccan Center of Conjuncture (CMC) [Centre Marocain de Conjoncutre] said in its monthly report that Morocco’s economic performance appears to be “very promising compared to the weak results recorded” in 2019.
The CMC said that national economic growth is expected to reach 4.6% in 2020.
Despite the forecasts, the CMC also commented on the challenges facing Morocco’s economy, including household debt.
Earlier this month, Morocco’s central bank,Bank Al-Maghrib released a report, showing that household debt has increased by 6.1%, to MAD 42,500 per household.
CMC cited the index of household confidence (ICM) from the High Commissioner for Planning (HCP), saying that the index is calculated using a specific technique. The process takes into account the concomitant evolution of several aspects, such as the previous and future standard of living in Morocco, personal financial situation, and unemployment.
ICM dropped to 74.9 points compared to 79.1 points recorded in the previous quarter, and 87.3 points recorded a year earlier.
HCP said that 46.2% of households reported a decline in living standards over the last 12 months. The commission added that 32.9% reported that the standards maintained the same level, while 20.8% noticed an improvement.
CMC said that household confidence deteriorated between the first quarter of 2018 and Q1-2019.
The report also indicates that bank loans reached MAD 872 billion at the end of May, representing an increase of 4.4% year-on-year.
“This increase is significantly higher than that recorded a year earlier where it has barely exceeded 2.6%,” said the report.
HCP shared statistics showing Moroccans’ inability to save money saving due to the rising living costs.
According to HCP, Only 16.7% of households expect to save money in the next 12 months. Debt repayment requirements can place further pressure on household finances, and contribute to pessimism on saving abilities.
On the eve of Throne Day, the governor of Morocco’s Bank Al Maghrib said that Morocco’s economic performance in 2018 was weak and failed to meet expectations of citizens.
He acknowledged that Morocco experiences challenges due to unemployment and the slow recovery of non agricultural sectors.
Jouahri warned that without concrete actions, Morocco will not get back on its track of higher growth.
The expert said that urgent reforms are needed with “greater efficiency and performance” to overcome the crisis.
“Genuine action is needed from all vital forces of the country, who are called upon to move beyond the narrow personal and partisan considerations and come together for the interest of the country and its citizens,” Jouahri concluded.
