Najwa Kakkous, a member of the Authenticity and Modernity Group in the House of Representatives, spoke about the hopes Moroccans are pinning on the current government—namely, its ability to shift the direction of public policy toward eliminating the causes of social vulnerability and inequality, and reducing everything that fosters a sense of exclusion.
In a statement delivered on behalf of the Authenticity and Modernity parliamentary group during the session to question the Prime Minister on general policy, held today, Monday, November 29, 2021, in the House of Representatives, Kkous affirmed that the government had assessed the situation, and developed its program to address existing challenges through financial and social measures and actions that mitigate their impact on the national economy and the social conditions of citizens, with a view to overcoming all weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the interventions of various government sectors regarding social development, solidarity, equality, and the vulnerable situation of families.
The parliamentarian noted that this approach will make it possible to support human development in accordance with the requirements of human rights, social justice, and spatial justice, to respond to the needs of citizens, and to address their various problems, In our view, this requires a focus on establishing community-based services and mobilizing local and national resources through cooperation to ensure the effectiveness of social support, as well as supporting and assisting low-income families and vulnerable groups.
Regarding the alarming shortage of human resources in the civil service left behind by the previous government’s management practices, Kakkous said, “The government is steadily moving forward with efforts to address the shortage and ensure that hiring practices comply with legal labor regulations and align with international standards,” adding: “This is reassuring, given the government’s focus on developing sub-budgets and allocating financial resources according to established priorities and approved projects, which will positively impact the development of the educational model, attention to human resources, improvement of educational offerings, and the promotion of parallel, integrated, and school sports activities.”
The speakers noted that “the allocation of the necessary financial resources—which have increased compared to 2021—will help accelerate the momentum of change, improve the quality of learning, and bring about a profound transformation of the school system. This approach, in our view, will serve as a cornerstone for ensuring quality, equitable, and inclusive education for all, by accelerating the critical shift toward educational quality and placing this challenge at the top of the agenda, and by focusing government intervention on reducing school dropout rates, strengthening mastery of learning and basic skills, and improving academic outcomes, to advance the conditions for achieving an equitable school system and equal opportunities, and to eliminate regional and social disparities.”
The parliamentarian went on to discuss the key pillars of support for the welfare state, which include working to provide the necessary conditions to ensure educational attainment for all students, maintaining the safety and health of the school community, and continuing the process of implementing the strategic projects outlined in the provisions of the framework law on education and training.
In this context, Kakkous noted that some reforms are merely stopgap and circumstantial, while others are painful in terms of their substance and procedures, and while we in the Authenticity and Modernity Party believe in the necessity of making a clean break from reforms that are limited in time in terms of their economic and social impact, we call for the need to take into account the fragile social situation that you have inherited, Mr. Prime Minister.
Kakous called for “a moment of appreciation for the government, which has allocated 23.5 billion dirhams to the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, especially since 6.9 billion dirhams of that amount is earmarked for investment—an increase of 3 billion dirhams compared to 2021. In addition, it has allocated approximately 5,500 financial positions to this sector out of the 26,860 positions proposed by the government.”
She explained that these measures aim to help ensure that all citizens have access to medical care and to uphold the right to health as enshrined in Article 31 of the 2011 Constitution, as part of a reform project focused on developing human capital in the health sector, upgrading infrastructure and equipment, strengthening the governance of the health system, and establishing an integrated information system that enables the accurate tracking and monitoring of each patient’s care pathway.
In the same statement, Kkous expressed her hope that the government would succeed in its projects to expand social protection by establishing the Ministerial Committee to Lead the Reform of the Social Protection System, as well as the basic compulsory health insurance system, and by establishing a pension system for professionals, self-employed workers, and non-salaried individuals engaged in private activities, and by accelerating the implementation of the unified social registry, as these initiatives are central to the pillars of the social state.
Khadija Al-Rahali
