His Majesty King Mohammed VI chaired, Wednesday 14 October 2020, at the Royal Palace in Rabat, a Council of Ministers, which was dedicated to the general orientations of the draft finance law for the 2021 budget year.
Afterwards and in accordance with the provisions of article 49 of the
Constitution, the Minister of Economy, Finance and Administration Reform, Mohamed
BENCHAABOUN, gave a presentation on the subject matter.
The Minister
underlined, in this regard, that this bill was drawn up following the Royal
High Guidelines contained in the Throne Speech and that of the opening of the
legislative year, which laid out the roadmap to transcend the economic and
social difficulties triggered by the crisis and build up the fundamentals of a
strong and competitive economy and a more inclusive social model. He also reiterated
that this project was developed in a difficult international context marked by
the crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic and social
repercussions, in particular on the activity of several sectors.
The general orientations of the finance bill for the 2021 budget year are
based on the following axes:
First: speeding up the launch of the national economy recovery plan. The
government will work under this framework to deploy all means to strengthen the
exceptional financial effort announced in the Throne Speech. Preserving jobs
and integrating the informal sector will be the top priorities. It will also
concern the rapid implementation of all the mechanisms likely to ensure the
necessary effectiveness for the interventions of the Mohammed VI Investment
Fund. The government will continue to promote public investment to reach 230
billion dirhams, taking into consideration that 45 billion dirhams will be
mobilized under this Fund.
In order to allow young people to have access to funding sources, a new
dynamic will be given to the “Intelaka” Program, while benefiting from an
exemption from Income Tax for 24 months of salaries paid to young people when
they are first recruited, on the condition that their employment contracts are
set for an indefinite period.
Second:
Beginning of the generalization of Compulsory Health Insurance through the
acceleration of the adoption of amendments relating to the legislative and
regulatory framework, which will above all make it possible to establish
compulsory health insurance for the precarious categories that currently
benefit from the RAMED regime, and speeding up the generalization of coverage
for the benefit of the self-employed category and those who practice liberal
activities. The government will support the generalization of compulsory health
coverage by upgrading health services through the increase in the budget dedicated
to the health sector in 2021 by nearly two billion dirhams to reach more than
20 billion dirhams.
Three: Reinforcement
of the exemplary nature of the State and the rationalization of its management
through the acceleration of the implementation of the High Royal Guidelines by
the launch of a profound reform of the public sector, the treatment of
structural dysfunctions of public establishments and enterprises with the aim
of achieving greater complementarity and coherence in their missions and improving
their economic and social effectiveness. In this regard, two bills will be
drafted, the first relating to the creation of a National Agency whose mission
will be to strategically manage the State's participations and to monitor the
performance of public establishments, while the second bill concerns the reform
of public establishments and enterprises.
The minister
concluded his presentation by saying that the growth rate of the national
economy will reach 4.8% and that the budget deficit for 2021 should be reduced
to 6.5% of the country’s GDP.