Development Model Report, “Bold Diagnosis” of State of Play – Parliamentary Opposition Parties –

The parliamentary opposition parties were unanimous in stressing that the report on the new development model presents a “bold diagnosis” of the reality of the country at the economic, social and political levels. This report brings important and substantive ideas and presents a bold and realistic diagnosis to overcome the issues facing the Kingdom at all levels, said the secretaries-general of the parties of Istiqlal (PI), Authenticity and Modernity (PAM) and Progress and Socialism (PPS). The SGs of these formations were speaking at a meeting, held on Monday in Rabat, on the theme “the new development model and the challenges of the upcoming elections”. They indicated that the report contains, proposals made by their parties during the sessions organized by the Ad-hoc Committee on the Development Model (CSMD), noting that the Committee has interacted positively with their reading of the Moroccan reality, as well as with the answers they brought to questions related to development, democracy and the role of institutions. In this context, the SG of PI, Nizar Baraka, noted that the new development model emphasized two essential points: the need to work for immediate change, in particular through “a gentle break with certain outdated policies still in force” and the importance of building trust, given that the Development Model Report stresses the need to build a “strong democratic state, with strong institutions and a strong society”. For his part, the SG of PAM, Abdellatif Ouahbi, considered that the report on the new development model brings ideas and positions and opens the debate, while stressing at the same time that the country “has a historical capital that must be developed and on which it is necessary to capitalize in order to build the future”. For his part, the SG of the PPS, Nabil Benabdellah, considered that the new development model is a fundamental project, the result of a year of work, stressing that the parties must have a main role in the debates on its content, before contributing to its implementation. With regard to the next elections, the SGs of the parliamentary opposition parties have indicated that these events must constitute an essential stage for discussing visions and programs with responsibility and realism, far from overbidding, the goal being to regain the citizens’ trust. Referring to the Moroccan-Spanish crisis, they denounced the Spanish hostile ulterior motives on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara, saying that amid the Catalan crisis, Spain has always counted on the support of Morocco which has fully defended its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.