Lower House’s Majority Groups Hail Government’s Efforts to East Impact of Social, Economic Situation

Majority groups in the House of Representatives (lower house) on Monday hailed the government’s efforts to cope with the impact of the current socio-economic situation, welcoming the government’s action which is part of a new vision of public affair management. During the monthly session of oral questions addressed to the Head of Government in the House of Representatives, the parliamentary majority called on the government to devise new measures to strengthen the Kingdom’s strategic security in terms of food and energy. Thus, the group of the National Rally of Independents (RNI) welcomed the government’s strategic vision and the social measures it has taken, praising its action to secure gas supply to the Kingdom by resorting to the international market. The group also noted that the government continues to put in place incentives, the most recent of which was the transfer made of part of the government’s commitment to allocate MAD 13 billion to pay the value added tax to encourage the competitiveness of Moroccan companies. The Executive has also immediately and efficiently intervened to implement the Royal High Instructions for the mitigation of the effects of the delayed rains on the agricultural sector, by allocating a budget of MAD 10 billion to support the affected farmers, the same source reported. For its part, the Authenticity and Modernity group believes that the openness of the national economy exposes it to crises in the world, as it is the case with the Ukraine-Russia conflict, which has led to a rise in food and energy prices internationally, calling on the government to prepare for future crises. The parliamentary group also welcomed the government’s measures to reduce the impact of these tensions on citizens, citing in particular the support to the agricultural sector, the assumption of responsibility for the increase in the energy bill and support for road transport professionals. It called for urgent action to control the alarming rise in prices, through the presentation of two bills on the Competition Council and freedom of prices, while opening a transparent dialogue with all stakeholders in the hydrocarbon sector, to address the malfunctions in the system of import and storage of fuel. For its part, the Istiqlali Group of Unity and Egalitarianism stressed that the new dynamics included in the overall economic strategy confirms the willingness of the government to learn the necessary lessons from the exceptional situation that the country is going through. This pandemic offered the opportunity for reforms and revision of the public policies adopted so far, taking into consideration the order of priorities, based on the strengthening of strategic security regarding the products and materials of first necessity. The Group called for reconsidering the liberalization of agricultural production, giving priority to basic agricultural products for the local market, through public investment in the agricultural sector and rationalizing water use in agriculture. The objective, it notes, is to ensure food sovereignty, achieve self-sufficiency, enhance agricultural production, develop the food industry and support the production of agricultural sectors as a source of local value added. For its part, the Constitutional, Democratic and Social Group welcomed the decision taken by the government to grant special support to transport professionals, which has alleviated the pressures of high fuel prices. In this context, it stressed the need to expand this initiative to include agricultural producers and workers in the transport and agricultural services sectors in the different regions of the country. The Group emphasized the importance of targeting weak links and groups in the production chains and service providers who are unable to cope with rising prices and deteriorating purchasing power, by providing support to needy groups.