Rabat – Morocco’s Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani has said that patriotism is essential to push Morocco’s regional development programs forward.
In a meeting with elected local representatives in the Casablanca-Settat region on December 28, El Othmani said that Morocco is entering a new phase of local development and needs the enthusiasm of Moroccans to sustain the forward-looking energy.
“The world around us is boiling with changes and events and we thank God for the stability that our country has been blessed with thanks to the wise leadership of King Mohammed VI.”
El Othmani added that Morocco is on track to “solve the problems facing us and solutions by consensus.”
The head of government said that Moroccans should “value the important achievements that have been made” so far.
El Othmani also argued that the development and achievements are the results of “cohesion and cooperation efforts.”
In the past three years, Morocco experienced several protests condemning inequalities, an increase in unemployment levels, and widening social disparities.
Morocco’s overall unemployment rate rose to 9.4% in the third quarter of 2019, compared to 9.3% in the same period last year, according to the High Commission for Planning (HCP).
Unemployment is mostly common among Moroccan youth, despite a slight decrease from 27.5% in the first three quarters of 2018 to 26.7% in 2019.
HCP said that the number of job seekers in Morocco rose from 1,088,000 to 1,144,000 in the third quarter of 2019. The numbers represent an increase of 26,000 people, of whom 23,000 are in rural areas and 3,000 in urban areas.
Throughout the year, “contractual teachers” and doctors launched a series of protests. Teachers called on the government to integrate them in the public sector.
Doctors in the public sector also flocked to the streets to condemn the challenges in the health sector and lack of adequate equipment at hospitals.
