King Mohammed VI attended on Wednesday the initial signing ceremony for a royal social security initiative designed to alleviate financial pressure on Morocco’s working class.
The project will provide new health care benefits for Moroccan artisanal workers such as farmers, craft workers, and other independent private employees. In a second phase of implementation, the royal initiative will extend coverage to those currently covered by the Single Professional Contribution (CPU) System.
Minister of the Economy Mohamed Benchaaboun announced that the project is following the timeline established by the king in the Throne Day speech of 2020. “This societal project constitutes a real social revolution as it will have direct and tangible effects on improving the living conditions of citizens,” he said.
Although the project is reason enough for celebration, government officials commented on the progress of a framework law which will guarantee Morocco’s working class access to better health insurance and improve the average Moroccan’s purchasing power in the economy.
The framework law will be divided into four categories: increased access to health insurance, expansion of federal-funding recipients, updating the Moroccan pension system, and providing new unemployment protections.
In the timeline set by King Mohammed VI in 2020, the country seeks to achieve universal health care by 2022. As for the expansion of federal-funding recipients, the government plans to provide families that were not previously funded by government programs, new lump sums by 2024.
Increases in pension payouts to employees and new unemployment protections will be implemented no later than 2025, per the King’s timeline.
To enact the different proposals, the government will require an estimated MAD 51 billion ($5.7 billion), with MAD 23 billion ($2.6 billion) funded directly from the state budget.
The signing of Morocco’s new social security project will immediately affect 800,000 workers and 22 million new beneficiaries will receive state funding in the coming year.
