Rabat – Morocco’s House of Representatives adopted on Friday the Finance Bill for the 2023 budget year.
The finance bill received support from 175 deputies, with 66 voting against it and two people abstaining, during a plenary session chaired by the speaker of the House of Representatives, Rachid Talbi Alami.
Minister Delegate to Minister of Economy and Finance in charge of the budget Fouzi Lekjaa said the finance bill provided “concrete answers and introduced real actions with a social vocation.”
Morocco’s finance bill will allocate over MAD 300 billion ($28 billion) for public investment in addition to over MAD 3 billion ($280 million) to encourage private investment within the framework of the establishment of the investment charter.
In addition, Morocco’s spending on healthcare is set to reach MAD 28 billion ($2.6 billion) next year, while defense will be allocated a budget estimated at MAD 18 billion ($1.7 billion).
Minister of Economy and Finance Nadia Fettah reassured deputies that the budget bill respects achieving macroeconomic balances to maintain an equilibrium between the country’s demand and supply.
Describing it as an “ambitious project,” Fettah argued that the bill could help stimulate socio-economic development, stressing that the project was developed in a complex and exceptional international context.
Morocco’s government adopted the finance bill in October, emphasizing its importance to stimulate socio-economic development in the midst of the inflation crisis.
Morocco has been suffering the most severe drought in three decades, with big impacts seen in the agriculture sector, one of the pillars of Morocco’s economy.
In the 2021-2022 season, the North African country’s cereal production declined by 67% to reach 34 million quintals compared to over 100 million quintals a season earlier.
Water management is also part of Morocco’s priority tasks. In October, King Mohammed VI called on the government to come up with fresh approaches to tackle the water crisis.
