King Mohammed VI chairs a Council of Ministers – Le1

King Mohammed VI chaired, Wednesday at the Royal Palace in Rabat, a Council of Ministers, devoted to the examination of important projects including the 2021 finance law, electronic signature, revision of Morocco-Turkey FTAs, privileges and immunities diplomatic missions between Morocco and the United States, and the creation of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Africa.

“His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, chaired this Wednesday October 14, 2020 at the Royal Palace in Rabat, a Council of Ministers” announced the spokesman of the Royal Palace, Abdelhak El Mrini, in a published statement by MAP on Wednesday evening.

The said advice was devoted to the examination of the general orientations of the finance bill for the 2021 budget year and the adoption of a number of draft legal texts and international agreements, assures the same source.

Chinese vaccine is moving in the right direction

At the start of the Council’s work, the King inquired with the Minister of Health about the progress of the Covid-19 vaccine under development by China, with regard to Morocco.

The Minister of Health replied that there is permanent contact with companies and with the Chinese government, which show goodwill on this subject, stressing that things are moving in the right direction.

Benchaâboun expects 4.8% growth in 2021

The work of the council began with a presentation by the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Administrative Reform, Mohamed Benchaâboun on the general orientations of the budget bill for the 2021 budget year.

The Minister affirmed, in this regard, that the PLF 2021 was drawn up in application of the royal orientations contained in the Speech from the Throne and that of the opening of the legislative year, which mapped out the roadmap to transcend the difficulties economic and social issues generated by the crisis and build the fundamentals of a strong and competitive economy and a more inclusive social model, said the press release from the spokesperson for the Palais Royal.

He also stressed 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:

Axis I: Acceleration of the launch of the national economy recovery plan

The government will work within this framework to put in place all the means to strengthen the exceptional financial effort announced in the Speech from the Throne.

The preservation of jobs and the integration of the informal sector will be the top priorities to be achieved..

It will also proceed to the rapid implementation of all the mechanisms likely to guarantee the effectiveness necessary for the interventions of the Mohammed VI Fund for Investment. 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.

To allow young people to access funding sources, a new dynamic will be injected into the “Intelaka” Program, which enjoys the Royal High Solicitude, while benefiting from an exemption from Income Tax for 24 months of salaries. paid to young people when they are first recruited, provided that their employment contracts are for an indefinite period.

Axis II: Beginning of the generalization of Compulsory Health Insurance

The generalization of the Compulsory Health Insurance desired by King Mohammed VI will be achieved according to Benchaâboun 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 benefit of precarious categories which currently benefit from the RAMED regime, and accelerate the generalization of coverage for the benefit of the self-employed category and those who practice liberal activities.

The government plans to upgrade the health supply by increasing the budget allocated to the health sector for the year 2021 by nearly two billion dirhams to reach more of 20 billion dirhams.

Axis III: Strengthening the exemplary nature of the State and rationalization of its management

Benchaâboun announces that the government will work on the acceleration of the implementation of the Royal orientations by the launch of a deep reform of the public sector, the treatment of the structural dysfunctions of the establishments and public enterprises with the aim of achieving more complementarity and consistency in their missions and the improvement of their economic and social efficiency.

In this context, 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 stating that the growth rate of the national economy was to be 4.8% and that the budget deficit for 2021 should be reduced to 6.5% of GDP.

Appointments: the National Agency of Registers and the Company of Guarantee and Financing of the Company now strategic establishments

Subsequently, the Council of Ministers adopted the draft organic law amending and supplementing the organic law relating to the appointment to higher functions.

This project aims to add l‘National Registries Agency and the Company Guarantee and Company Financing to the list of strategic establishments and companies, including appointment of officials is deliberated in the Council of Ministers.

Approval of legal texts relating to the military field

Electronic signature

King Mohammed VI has approved a bill on trust services for electronic transactions.

Which project aims to establish a more inclusive regime that allows the digitization of the majority of electronic transactions and provide greater flexibility for the wide use of electronic signatures.

The bill also fixes the different levels of electronic signature which are compatible with the quality of electronic transactions. It also adds other trust services including the electronic seal and l‘electronic time stamp and the selectronic registered delivery services and thewebsite authentication.

Marine scientific research in waters under national jurisdiction

A draft decree setting the conditions and modalities for issuing authorizations for marine scientific research in waters under national jurisdiction was also approved by the Council.

The text specifies the regulatory framework applicable to marine scientific research activities and their encouragement in our country and associates Moroccan bodies and researchers in marine scientific research carried out by foreigners, while ensuring the preservation of the interests of the Kingdom and the national security and sovereignty.

The text also provides for the creation of a National Commission for Marine Research.

Commission for the reform of Auxiliary Forces personnel

The sovereign approved a draft decree establishing the composition and the mode of operation of the Commission for the reform of Auxiliary Forces personnel.

The main purpose of the decree is to fix the attributions of this commission by adding a representative of the Moroccan Pension Fund and by reinforcing the presence of the body of the Auxiliary Forces in the person of a senior officer of inspector grade 1-st. class.

It also aims to allow the commission to hold its meetings in the headquarters of the Regional Commands in order to provide a local service to the members of these forces.

Morocco-Turkey FTA and privileges and immunities of diplomatic missions between Morocco and the United States

The Council of Ministers approved five (5) international agreements, including two bilateral and three multilateral.

The two bilateral agreements concern:

1. The amendment to the free trade agreement between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Turkey, which aims to remedy the dysfunctions that have impacted the trade balance between the two countries in recent years, and the protection of emerging or fragile industries.
2. The privileges and immunities enjoyed by members of diplomatic missions between the government of the Kingdom of Morocco and the government of the United States of America, in accordance with the Vienna Agreement of 1961.

As for the three multilateral conventions, they relate to the opening of Morocco to new economic spaces and the completion of its adhesion to the contractual system of the African Union.

These agreements concern respectively:

1. adherence to the statutes of the Asian Investment Bank in infrastructure,
2. the African Charter on Road Safety
3. the Treaty of Pelindaba for the creation of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Africa.

These last two conventions are part of the strengthening of Morocco’s presence within the system of joint African cooperation and the sharing of its experience with African countries in these two important areas, specifies the press release of the spokesperson of the Palace. Royal.