Casablanca – Morocco’s Interior Ministry has allocated MAD 58.7 billion ($6.01 billion) to its 2027 budget, with plans to accelerate territorial development, expand public services, and continue institutional reforms, Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit said on Thursday.
Presenting the budget before the House of Representatives’ Committee on Interior, Territorial Communities, Housing, City Policy and Administrative Affairs, Laftit said the allocation follows the main priorities of the government program and Royal guidelines.
These priorities include strengthening Morocco’s strategic sovereignty in water, energy, food and digital sectors, while accelerating advanced regionalization and administrative deconcentration.
The budget also aims to launch a new generation of integrated territorial development programs and continue institutional reforms and modernization projects undertaken in recent years.
Laftit said the ministry would continue implementing the legal and institutional measures needed to advance regionalization, while providing financial and technical support to territorial authorities. The ministry also plans to improve local governance and management methods.
Administrative deconcentration remains another priority, with efforts focused on gradually transferring responsibilities and decision-making powers to local authorities.
Regional development and social programs
As part of the legislative framework supporting territorial development, the government has amended the organic law governing regions to clarify and redistribute their own and shared responsibilities.
The changes also seek to strengthen the role of regional councils as key drivers of economic development.
One of the main financial measures involves increasing the annual ceiling for state transfers to regional budgets from MAD 10 billion ($1.02 billion) to MAD 12 billion ($1.23 billion) starting in 2027.
Laftit also presented the results of the four programs under the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), reporting progress as of the end of June.
The initiative’s infrastructure and basic services program allocated around MAD 698 million ($71.4 million) to social infrastructure projects, particularly in territories with the largest infrastructure and service gaps.
Meanwhile, support for people in vulnerable situations mobilized MAD 500 million ($51.2 million) for targeted groups. These include abandoned children, street children, homeless young people, people with disabilities, women in vulnerable situations and older people without financial resources.
The minister also reported that 3,295 young people, both girls and boys, benefited from training programs, while another 828 received support through professional integration programs.
The ministry is also working to make better use of collective lands for economic and social development. Laftit said it had updated its strategy for the 2026-2030 period, with a focus on supporting income-generating projects, creating jobs and strengthening the capacities of local communities, particularly young people and women.
For 2026, authorities programmed 340 income-generating projects and activities benefiting 26,500 members of the Soulaliyate communities, which hold rights to collective lands.
Alongside these programs, the ministry is continuing projects to digitize administrative procedures and formalities within territorial authorities. The measures aim to simplify access to public services for citizens and businesses and reduce processing times.
Security and administrative modernization
Laftit also addressed the ministry’s efforts to modernize public administration and improve security governance.
He said the digitization projects form part of broader efforts to improve management methods and strengthen governance at the local level.
On security, the minister said maintaining public safety and stability, as well as protecting citizens and their property, remains a fundamental responsibility of the Interior Ministry.
He described Morocco’s stability and the ability of citizens to exercise their political, economic and social rights as the result of sustained work, constant vigilance and continued mobilization by security services.
However, Laftit cautioned that stability does not mean the disappearance of security threats. He stressed that maintaining it requires collective responsibility and continuous efforts.
He specifically warned that the terrorist threat remains persistent and requires the highest level of vigilance. The absence of terrorist attacks, he said, does not mean there are no plans targeting Morocco’s security.
The ministry’s approach focuses on identifying and addressing risks before they develop into acts that could threaten people or infrastructure. Laftit said these preventive measures are carried out in strict compliance with the law and under the supervision of the competent judicial authorities.
He added that citizens’ sense of security remains central to the ministry’s work. This includes controlling criminal activity, improving the effectiveness of security interventions, strengthening direct contact with citizens and responding more quickly to their complaints and concerns.
The minister said these efforts form part of the ministry’s broader responsibilities under the 2027 budget, alongside territorial development, institutional reform and the modernization of public services.
