Mr. Mohamed BOUSSAID, Minister of Economy and Finance and Mr. Salaheddine MEZOUAR, President of the CGEM (the General Confederation of Moroccan Companies), have co-chaired, Tuesday, July 10, 2018 at the headquarters of the Ministry, a meeting devoted to the "Business climate and payment deadlines" and which was also the occasion to hold the first meeting of the Observatory of Payment Terms.
The meeting was attended by Mr. Moulay Hafid Elalamy, Minister of Industry, Investment, Trade and Digital Economy, members of the Observatory of Payment Terms and representatives of several directorates of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
This meeting is part of a concerted effort between the public authorities and representatives of the Private Sector to improve the business climate in Morocco, aiming to optimize the deadlines for the supplier’s payment from public and private sectors.
These efforts have made it possible to set up an institutional, legislative and regulatory system capable of facilitating the practice of business in Morocco and reducing payment delays. In the other hand, with several ambitious projects undertaken in this context, specially by creating the necessary conditions to enable the private sector to play its major role in economic development and growth, boosting the use of public-private partnerships and strengthening corporate governance.
This system was reinforced by the establishment of the Observatory of Payment Terms, following the publication of Decree No. 2-17-696 of 30 November 2017, on the functioning and composition of said Observatory. The Presidency of the Observatory is entrusted to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which also takes charge of the Observatory's Secretariat through the Directorate of Public Enterprises and Privatization.
The Observatory of Payment Terms, whose composition is extended to the various stakeholders concerned by this theme, represents an advisory body at the service of government authorities on all issues relating to payment deadlines between companies. It is also a real opportunity for exchange, consultation and the proposal of measures and actions aimed at reducing late payments and controlling suppliers' debts.
Regarding the payment deadlines for State Owned Enterprises (SOE), this aspect constitutes a permanent watch point for the Ministry of the Economy and Finance which ensures a regular follow-up of this question through, the optimization of the mobilization of financial resources for the benefit of the relevant EEPs, raising their awareness and support in improving payment times, strengthening their governance and reforming their legal and regulatory framework.
These actions will be reinforced by the implementation of the electronic supplier complaints platform on the payment terms of the SOE. This platform was developed with a specialized firm and in consultation with the CGEM and in a participatory approach involving the SOE, and it is dedicated to receiving and processing supplier complaints by putting them in direct contact with the SOE.
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The MEF-CGEM meeting allowed the presentation of several themes related to the payment deadlines in the Public and Private sectors, followed by the holding of the first meeting of the Observatory which allowed the constitution of an Ad-hoc Committee charged with developing a road map for the deployment of the Observatory and its rules of procedure as well as for the finalization of its action plan for the period 2018-2019.
The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Ministry of the Interior and representatives of Bank Al-Maghrib and the Professional Group of Banks of Morocco.