His Majesty King Mohammed VI Chairs Council of Ministers

Here follows the English translation of the statement:

« His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, chaired this Tuesday, 18 October 2022, corresponding to 21 Rabii I 1444 A.H. at the Royal Palace in Rabat, a Council of Ministers, which was devoted to the examination of the General Guidelines of the 2023 Finance Bill and the adoption of a draft Dahir, three draft organic laws, three draft decrees as well as number of international agreements.

At the beginning of the Council’s proceedings, and in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution’s Article 49, the Minister of Economy and Finance made a presentation to His Majesty the King on the General Guidelines of the 2023 Finance Bill.

The Minister stated that this Bill has been elaborated in an unstable international context, with its repercussions in terms of inflation and production chain disruption.

The 2023 Finance Bill’s generation orientations are based on four main axes:

First: Reinforcing the Social State’s foundations, by implementing various components of the Royal project of social protection generalization. This particularly concerns the completion of Compulsory Health Insurance generalization over all social categories, the progressive generalization of family allowances according to a new approach of direct targeting of the underprivileged populations, based on the Unified Social Register and the acceleration of its generalization to all the regions of the Kingdom.

At the same time, pursuing the rehabilitation of the national health system, by increasing the funds allocated to the health and social protection sector.

It will also concern the implementation of the roadmap for the reform of the education and training system, encouraging the full participation of women in all economic fields and the protection of their rights, as well as the integration of people with disabilities.

Taking into account the importance of access to housing and the guarantee of conditions for a decent life, direct state aid has been introduced in this area for the benefit of targeted categories.

Second: Reviving national economy by supporting of investment, which goes through the implementation of the new Investment Charter and the execution of the commitments registered within the framework of the industrial investment projects.

Additionally, in accordance with the High Royal Instructions, the Mohammed VI Fund for Investment will be operationalized and public investment will be boosted, which will be directed towards infrastructure projects and ambitious sectoral strategies, to strengthen the competitiveness of the national product and national sovereignty in food, health and energy.

Given the role of the tax system to meet the current economic challenges and achieve the objectives expected in terms of economic recovery, the provisions of the framework law on tax reform will be implemented, and thus enabled to provide more visibility to economic actors, by comprehensively reforming corporate tax, banking and insurance sectors, in parallel with tax pressure reduction for employees and pensioners of the middle class.

Third: Consecrating territorial equity, by continuing the implementation of the advanced regionalization project and the program to reduce spatial and social disparities.

This will also concern the acceleration of administration reform, by simplifying procedures and launching a new national strategy of digital transition, in addition to pursuing more efforts in the field of administrative deconcentration and Amazigh language institutionalization at the level of all public life aspects.

Fourth: Restoring budgetary margins to ensure reforms’ sustainability, by allocating all possible financial resources through improved tax collection, adopting innovative financing mechanisms, rationalizing the administration’s operating expenses, implementing reforms relating to public procurement, reforming the Organic Law relating to the Finance Act, in addition to revaluing public portfolio and enhancing its performance.

The Minister indicated that this Project is based on assumptions fixing the growth rate at 4%, the inflation rate around 2% and the budget deficit at 4.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

After having adopted the 2023 Finance Bill’s General Guidelines, the Council of Ministers approved the draft Dahir relating to military aircraft’s airworthiness and air safety.

This project, elaborated in application of the High Instructions of His Majesty the King, Supreme Leader and Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces, aims at setting up a system of military aircraft airworthiness to ensure its conformity with that of civil aviation, and the creation, by decision of His Majesty the King, within the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces, of a Directorate of Military Aeronautics (DAM).

Subsequently, the Council of Ministers adopted two draft organic laws amending and supplementing the organic law on the Supreme Council of the Judiciary and the organic law on the status of judges.

The project relating to the Supreme Council of the Judiciary aims in particular the revision of the structures of the Council at the level of the general secretariat and the administrative organization, the adaptation of the legal situation of the Joint Coordination Body in the field of the judicial administration, the moralization of the election of the representatives of the magistrates and the reinforcement of the role of the Council as regards the respect of the values of integrity and probity within the judiciary body.

The project on the status of magistrates aims to revise the grades of magistrates, the optimal management of the selection procedure of judicial officials, the activation of the role of the Council in the field of supervision of magistrates and evaluation of their career and their judicial performance.

The Council of Ministers has also approved a draft organic law amending and supplementing the organic law on the appointment to senior positions. The purpose of this project is to :

– adding the Moroccan Copyright and Related Rights Office and the Joint Foundation for the Promotion of Social Works of Civil Servants and Public Administration Agents to the list of public institutions whose officials are appointed by the Council of Government.

– updating the name of the « Supreme Council for Equipment, Transport, Logistics and Water », which is included in the list of public establishments whose officials are appointed by the Government Council, to « Supreme Council for Equipment ».

As a concrete expression of the special attention that His Majesty the King, Supreme Leader and Chief of General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces, always gives to the members of these Forces, His Majesty the King has approved two draft decrees relating to the military filed.

The first is a draft decree amending and supplementing the Dahir fixing the salary of military personnel of the Royal Armed Forces, which aims at improving the material and social conditions of military personnel working in the field of military health.

The second draft decree concerns the application of the law on trust services for electronic transactions, which aims to support the digital transition as one of the important and priority projects.

The Council of Ministers also adopted the draft decree amending the decree setting the conditions for the allocation of family benefits to civil servants, military personnel and agents of the State, municipalities and public institutions.

This project, which comes in execution of the commitments of the government contained in the agreement signed with the most representative trade unions within the framework of the social dialogue, aims at raising the monthly amount of family allowances to which civil servants and military personnel benefit for the 4th, 5th and 6th child.

Within the framework of the implementation of the farsighted Royal vision as regards foreign policy of the Kingdom concerning the widening of the networks of partnerships and the diversification of their fields, and the establishment of fruitful cooperation relations with the various geographical areas, the Council of Ministers adopted eight international agreements, of which three are bilateral and five multilateral.

On the bilateral level, the agreements concern partners in the African and Arab areas, and relate to the promotion and protection of investments, air services and cooperation in the fields of peaceful uses of atomic energy.

As for multilateral agreements, they concern various areas relating to the protection of workers’ claims in case of insolvency of their employer; the « Constitution of the African Civil Aviation Commission » (CAFAC); the « African Energy Commission »; the « Regulation of the Transport and Transit of Passengers by Road between the Arab States »; and the Headquarters Agreement with the Francophone University Agency.

At the end of the Council’s work 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 Economy and Finance, His Majesty the King, may God assist Him, has kindly appointed Mr. Mohamed Benchaaboun, Director General of the Mohammed VI Fund for Investment.