Rabat – Fuel prices are expected to experience another slight price drop across Morocco, but there remains concerns over whether the much-anticipated decrease in prices will meet citizens’ recent call for prices to go as low as MAD 8 and MAD 7 for diesel and gasoline.
Converging media reports suggest that gas stations will lower their gasoline prices by MAD 80 cents, while diesel prices will see a drop of MAD 1, indicating the expected drop will significantly fall short of meeting the bulk of most Moroccans’ expectations.
According to the Moroccan news website Les Inspirations ECO, the drops in fuel prices will take place in mid-August.
“This is good news for the consumer, we hope to see this trend maintained,” the newspaper quoted the general manager of Energysium consulting Mostafa Labrak as saying.
Gasoline and diesel prices have gone slightly down in the past few days, ranging between MAD 14 and MAD 15 against MAD 17 and MAD 16 in the past several weeks.
The situation continues to cause uproar and frustration among citizens, many of whom have been calling for further drops amid the far-reaching consequences of the global socio-economic crises exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, the Ukraine war, and the climate breakdown.
Many citizens continue to share hashtags condemning fuel prices increases and calling for a cabinet reshuffling.
The hashtag #DegageAkhannouch (Akhannouch Leave) to call for the resignation of the Head of Government is among the most trending campaigns on Moroccan social media platforms. The hashtag has been shared and posted millions of times on several platforms, namely on Facebook and Twitter.
Several opposition parties have condemned the government’s failure to meet citizens’ demands.
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Driss Sentissi, President of Mouvement Populaire’s (MP) parliamentary group, has recently criticized Aziz Akhannouch’s government, describing it as “weak” for failing to meet citizens’ demands.
The news of an expected drop in fuel prices comes amid promising signs of a rebound in the global oil market. Reuters reported on Friday that global oil prices have plunged by 2%.
Meanwhile, oil companies have been citing the Ukraine-Russia conflict as a major factor in fuel price hikes.
Earlier this month, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concerns about companies profiting from the conflict.
“This grotesque greed is punishing the poorest and most vulnerable people while destroying our only home,” Guterres warned, calling on governments to “tax these excessive profits” and to support the low-income households severely impacted by the ongoing crises.
