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Rabat – The Special Commission on the Development Model (CSMD) has dedicated one week of meetings to hear from political parties and unions on their views about Morocco’s new development model, according to state-run media outlet Maghreb Arab Press (MAP). The meetings began Thursday, January 2, and will continue through January 8.
On Friday, the CSMD sought the input of representatives from an opposition party, the Democratic and Social Movement (MDS).
The meeting came after the ruling Justice and Development Party (PJD) presented its views to the CSMD on Thursday. Slimane El-Amrani, the deputy secretary general of the moderate Islamist PJD party, told the commission that Morocco’s new development model should be “based on the promotion of societal values, the consecration of democratic choice and good governance,” MAP reported.
Along with the PJD, the CSMD also heard from the opposition Istiqlal party and the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) party, part of the government coalition. The USFP emphasized the importance of the balance of powers, “modernity,” and equality between men and women.
Istiqlal’s secretary general, Nizar Baraka, called for the commission to implement a development model based on efficiency and to do away with the economy of rent-seeking and privileges.
Read also: Marginalization and Favoritism are Hampering Morocco’s Economy
Other political parties in the government coalition—the National Rally of Independents (RNI), the Popular Movement (MP), and the Constitutional Union (UC)—have not yet met with the special commission.
Commission members are set to also conduct “listening sessions” with representatives of the private sector and associations. The commission has also announced plans to launch a website so that it can hear from ordinary Moroccans, although it is not clear when the website will be ready.
King Mohammed VI established the special commission for Morocco’s new development model last year, appointing Moroccan Ambassador to France Chakib Benmoussa as the chair in November.
In his speech on Throne Day in July, the King announced, “I expect the committee to be totally impartial and objective, and to report on facts as they are on the ground, however harsh or painful they may be. And when proposing solutions, I want it to be daring and innovative.’’
