Ongoing injections into the COVID-19 fund display Moroccan institutions’ solidarity with efforts to curb the pandemic.
Rabat – The Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Services for the Marrakech-Safi region (CCISRMS) is the latest contributor to Morocco’s Special Fund for the Management and Response to COVID-19, with a MAD 8 million ($811,565) donation.
President of CCISRMS Mohamed Falam announced on March 26 the institution’s injection into the fund, established on March 16 under instruction from King Mohammed VI.
The CCISRMS initiative comes as an “interaction with relevant constitutional requirements, which stipulate solidary obligation in bearing the costs and burdens resulting from various pandemics and disasters,” adds the statement.
The institution also hopes through its contribution to leverage Morocco’s economy amid the pandemic.
Earlier this month Morocco’s central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib, announced that the country is taking a hit from the spread of COVID-19. The country’s economic growth is expected to stagnate at 2.3% in 2020.
With an initial sum of $1 billion, the national fund aims to mitigate the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 on Morocco. Thanks to contributions from businesspeople, institutions, and public and private sector donors, the fund’s worth has nearly tripled.
Businesspeople in Morocco who made major contributions to the COVID-19 fund include Minister of Agriculture Aziz Akhannouch and BMCE Bank of Africa CEO Othman Benjelloun, who each contributed around $100 million.
The Moroccan Ministry of Health has confirmed a total of 450 cases in the country, with 74 in the Marrakech-Safi region, as of March 29 at 1 p.m. Fatalities have reached 26 while recoveries amount to 13.
