Highlights

The General Orientations of 2021 Finance Bill examined in the Council of Ministers

14/10/2020
The General Orientations of 2021 Finance Bill examined in the Council of Ministers

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.