Fez : Morocco’s King Chairs a Council of Ministers
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI on Thursday chaired at the Royal Palace in Fez a Council of Ministers, which was dedicated to the adoption of several draft legal texts and international agreements, said a statement by spokesperson of the Royal Palace, Abdelhak El Mrini.
The statement :
« At the beginning of the Council, His Majesty the King questioned the minister of the Interior about the tragic incident which took place recently in a factory in Tangier and the measures which have been taken to avoid the reproduction of such incidents.
The minister replied that along with the ongoing investigations, a preliminary vision was developed and action is continuing within this framework.
HM the King reiterated His High Instructions to the Government as to the need for action by the various concerned sectors and the rapid and serious implementation of this vision, while taking all the necessary legal, regulatory and procedural provisions throughout the national territory to avoid the reproduction of such painful incidents.
His Majesty the King also questioned the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests, about the situation of the agricultural sector, particularly after the last rainfalls in the country.
In his answer, the Minister said that this year is distinguished by significant rainfall exceeding on average + 50% compared to last year and that 80% of crops are in good condition, adding that the outlook for the agricultural year is good.
Afterwards, His Majesty inquired with the Minister of Health about the conditions of the conduct of the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
The Minister underlined that the campaign is taking place in the best conditions and witnesses a strong mobilization of citizens.
The Sovereign reiterated, in this regard, His High Instructions on the need to continue this campaign with the same pace and the same spirit of responsibility.
Subsequently, and with a view to preparing for the next general elections in the country, the Council of Ministers has adopted four draft organic laws related to these elections, aimed generally at perfecting the rules of the electoral method, strengthening electoral guarantees, defining the rules governing the financial support granted to political parties, moralizing electoral operations and strengthening the financial transparency of candidates’ electoral campaigns.
These are the draft laws adopted:
– Draft organic law amending and supplementing the organic law relating to the House of Representatives: It aims in particular to develop the legislative mechanism relating to the representativeness of women, through the replacement of the national electoral district by regional electoral districts, given the constitutional place of the Region in the territorial organization of the Kingdom, as well as to rationalize the electoral mandates by instituting the incompatibility between the mandate of deputy and the function of president of the council of any municipality, whose population exceeds 300,000 inhabitants.
– Draft organic law amending and supplementing the organic law relating to the House of Advisors: The amendments are intended in particular to allow the most representative professional organizations of employers to keep a parliamentary group within the House in order to allow them to express the concerns and grievances of economic stakeholders and national large, medium and small companies.
– Draft organic law amending and supplementing the organic law relating to the election of members of the councils of territorial collectivities: It mainly aims to define the procedure of candidacy for the elections of the members of the prefectural and provincial councils, to set up a mechanism ensuring representativeness of women by granting a third of the seats to women in each prefectural or provincial council and increase the number of seats reserved for women in municipal councils. It also provides for the revision of the number of municipalities subject to the list system, by increasing the number of inhabitants required for the application of the list system, in the municipalities concerned, from 35,000 currently to more than 50,000 inhabitants.
– Draft organic law amending the organic law relating to political parties: It aims to establish the legislative basis for the execution of the High Royal Guidelines on the issue of increasing public support granted to political parties, in order to accompany them and encourage them to renew their working methods, improve their performance and enhance the quality of legislation and public policies, while ensuring that they allocate a part of it to the skills they mobilize for missions of reflection, analysis and innovation.
The Council of Ministers also adopted the draft organic law amending and supplementing the organic law relating to the appointment to higher functions in application of the provisions of articles 49 and 92 of the Constitution.
This bill aims to include the “Mohammed VI Investment Fund” in the list of strategic public enterprises, whose managers are appointed by the Council of Ministers.
This project is also intended to modify the names of certain public establishments and enterprises with a view to adapting them to the laws organizing them which have been modified.
These are:
– The “Hassan II Foundation for social works of officials and servants of the Ministry of the Interior”,
– “Casablanca Finance City Authority (CFCA)”
– The “Higher Council for Equipment, Transport, Logistics and Water”.
As part of the implementation of the High Royal Guidelines, contained in the Throne speech and the speech delivered by the Sovereign at the opening of the parliamentary session of the same year, relating to the generalization of social protection for the benefit of all Moroccans, the Council of Ministers has approved a draft framework law on social protection.
This societal project, which benefits from the particular interest and follow-up of His Majesty the King, represents a real social revolution given its direct and concrete impact on the improvement of the living conditions of citizens, the preservation of the dignity of all Moroccans and the protection of vulnerable categories, particularly in times of economic turbulence, health risks and various emergencies.
This framework bill is intended to be the cornerstone and the referential framework for the implementation of the royal vision in the field of social protection, the realization of the noble objectives set out by His Majesty the King, in particular the support of the purchasing power of Moroccan households and the achievement of social justice.
This project aims to define the principles and objectives relating to the reform of the social protection system, over the next five years, and the commitments of the State, local authorities, public establishments and enterprises, the private sector, the civil society, various public and private bodies and citizens to achieve these objectives which are :
– The generalization of basic compulsory health insurance during the years 2021 and 2022, through broadening the base of beneficiaries of this insurance to include vulnerable categories benefiting from the medical assistance scheme and the category of professionals and self-employed, who exercise a liberal activity, so that an additional 22 million people benefit from this insurance, which covers the costs of treatment, medicine and hospitalization.
– The generalization of family allowances during the years 2023 and 2024, by allowing households, which do not benefit from these allowances, to receive allowances covering risks related to childhood, or fixed allowances.
– The broadening of the base of pension plan members in order to include people who have a job and do not benefit from any pension, through the implementation of the pension system specific to the categories of professionals and self-employed and non-employees who exercise a liberal activity, in order to include all the categories concerned.
– The generalization of the indemnity for loss of employment during the year 2025 to cover any person exercising a stable job through the simplification of the conditions of usufruct of this indemnity and the widening of the base of beneficiaries.
The framework bill provides for the coordination of the action of public authorities with all the stakeholders concerned by the generalization of social protection and the development of managerial and governance aspects of social protection bodies, with a view to creating a unified structure for the coordination and supervision of social protection systems. It also aims to take all legislative, institutional and financial measures to ensure the implementation of this ambitious social project.
The implementation of this large-scale societal project constitutes a starting point to meet the aspirations of His Majesty the King in favor of all the components of the Moroccan society, in terms of responding to the challenge of the generalization of social protection, and represents, moreover, a lever for integrating the informal sector into the national economic fabric, so as to guarantee the protection of the working class and its rights, as well as a decisive turning point on the path to achieving a balanced development and social and spatial justice under the wise leadership of His Majesty the King.
As part of the strengthening of cooperation and partnership networks between Morocco and several brotherly and friendly countries, and the diversification of their areas, the Council of Ministers has approved six international agreements, including five bilateral agreements and one multilateral agreement.
These agreements relate to cooperation in fisheries with the Russian Federation and the teaching of the Arabic language with the French Republic, as well as judicial cooperation in criminal, civil and commercial matters with the Republic of Ukraine, in addition to an agreement with the United Nations relating to the establishment in Rabat of the programme office for counter-terrorism and training in Africa of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT).
In accordance with the provisions of Article 49 of the Constitution and following the proposal of the Head of Government:
– and at the initiative of the Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts, Air Transport and Social Economy, His Majesty the King has appointed Habiba Laklalech, as Director General of the National Airports Office;
– and at the initiative of the Minister of Labor and Professional Integration, His Majesty the King has appointed Hassan Boubrik as director general of the National Social Security Fund ». (MAP)
