His Majesty the King Chairs Council of Ministers in Fez

His Majesty King Mohammed VI chaired on Sunday at the Royal Palace in Fez, a Council of Ministers, devoted to the review of the General Guidelines of the appropriation bill for the year 2022, the adoption of a draft organic law and a number of international agreements, as well as appointments to senior positions, said a statement by the spokesman of the Royal Palace, Abdelhak El Mrini. Here follows the translation of the statement:   “His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, chaired this Sunday, October 17, 2021, corresponding to 10 Rabi’ al-awwal 1443 Hijri, at the Royal Palace in Fez, a Council of Ministers, which was devoted to the examination of the General Guidelines of the appropriation bill for the fiscal year 2022, the adoption of a draft organic law and a number of international agreements, as well as appointments to senior positions. At the beginning of the Council’s proceedings, His Majesty the King renewed His congratulations to the new government and His wishes for full success in its national missions at the service of the Moroccan people to meet their legitimate aspirations and expectations. Subsequently, and in accordance with the provisions of Article 49 of the Constitution, the Minister of Economy and Finance made a presentation before His Majesty the King on the General Guidelines of the appropriation bill for the year 2022. The Minister said that this bill has been developed in a context marked by the emergence of signs of recovery of the national economy, the lessons learned from the management of the pandemic crisis and the beginning of the implementation of the Development Model as a national responsibility requiring the participation of all energies and forces of the country. The government has ensured that the appropriation bill is a starting point for the implementation of the Royal High Directions and the government program.   The General Guidelines of the appropriation bill for the year 2022 are based on the following aspects:   Firstly: Consolidating the bases for the revival of the national economy, in order to allow the various sectors to regain their dynamism as well as to improve their capacity to preserve jobs and create others. This also involves the continued implementation of the Plan for the revival of the national economy as well as the operationalization of the Mohammed VI Fund for Investment, the implementation of the investment charter, the improvement of the business climate and the implementation of the framework law relating to the tax reform. The government will take urgent measures to support young people in employment, encourage the initiatives of young people with projects in the agricultural field, breathe new life into the program “Intilaka” through the launch of a new project “Al Forssa” which aims to finance youth projects without preconditions. Secondly: Strengthening inclusion mechanisms and advancing the generalization of social protection, as a priority project that enjoys the high solicitude of His Majesty. In addition to the continued implementation of the generalization of the Basic Compulsory Health Insurance for the benefit of non-salaried workers, the year 2022 will mark the launch of the second phase of this major project concerning the expansion of the beneficiary population to vulnerable and poor categories, currently benefiting from the Medical Assistance Scheme “RAMED”.  At the same time, the necessary measures will be taken for the gradual generalization of family allowances, through the implementation of the Unified Social Register, special attention will be paid to the social integration of people with disabilities, in addition to establishing the promotion of gender equality in various economic and social areas among the priorities of government action.  Thirdly: Strengthening human capital, by taking the necessary measures to enable the public school to regain its dual role of knowledge transfer and social promotion. Within this framework, the government will pay particular attention to accelerating the generalization of pre-school education, strengthening the basic knowledge of children from primary school onwards and supporting the education of children from poor categories, especially in rural areas. The government will ensure the reform of the teacher training system and the rehabilitation of training centers. Pursuant to the High Royal Directions, the government will work to launch a deep reform of the health system in order to rehabilitate the health sector and accompany the generalization of social protection. Fourthly: Reforming the public sector and reinforcing governance mechanisms, through the acceleration of the implementation of the advanced regionalization project, the setting up of the necessary measures for the concretization of the provisions of the framework law relating to the reform of Public Establishments and Enterprises, and the operationalization of the National Agency for the Strategic Management of State Holdings. The government will also focus on accelerating the reform of the administration, through the activation of the Charter of Public Services and the simplification of administrative procedures, the generalization of digital administration, as well as the concretization of the Charter of administrative deconcentration. Subsequently, the Council of Ministers adopted a draft organic law amending and supplementing the organic law on appointment to senior positions. This project aims to: – add the following establishments to the list of strategic public establishments, whose heads are appointed by the Council of Ministers: + The National Cannabis Regulatory Agency; +The National Agency for the Strategic Management of State Holdings and the Monitoring of the Performance of Public Establishments and Companies; +The National Agency for Water and Forests; – change the name of the “Energy Investment Company” to “Energy Engineering Company”;   – add three institutions to the list of public institutions whose heads are appointed by the Council of Government. These are the Social Works Foundations of the Ministry of National Planning, Urban Development, Housing and Urban Policy, the Department of Water and Forests and the Ministerial Department in charge of Fisheries. – Finally, to remove the “Office of Marketing and Export” from the list of national institutions whose appointment of officials is the subject of deliberations in the Council of Government, and this after the publication of the law on dissolution and liquidation of this Office. Within the framework of the consolidation of the relations of cooperation and partnership linking Morocco to several brotherly and friendly countries and the reinforcement of its position at the continental and international levels, the Council of Ministers approved seven international agreements, of which four bilateral and three multilateral. The bilateral agreements aim at consolidating the humanitarian aspect in the relations of our country with States belonging to various areas in Europe, Asia and Latin America. They concern the fields of mutual judicial assistance in criminal matters and the development of cooperation in the fields of air services, culture, sports and youth. At the multilateral level, the agreements concern Morocco’s accession to the Charter of the African Cultural Renaissance, the agreement for the establishment of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the Protocol amending the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data. At the end of the Council’s proceedings and in accordance with the provisions of Article 49 of the Constitution, and on the proposal of the Head of Government and on the initiative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, His Majesty the King, may God assist Him, has kindly appointed : – Mr. Mohamed Benchaaboun, Ambassador of His Majesty the King to the French Republic; – And Mr. Youssef Amrani, Ambassador of His Majesty the King to the European Union”.