Labor code, interim finance bill, development plan: major issues on MPs spring agenda
Morocco, Economics, 4/15/2000

The labor and customs codes, the draft interim appropriation bill and the five-year development plan are the major issues to be discussed by Morocco's MPs during their spring session, opened on Friday.

The labor code, which seeks to develop working conditions, is part of Morocco's efforts to straighten up its economy and enable it face the globalization challenges.

The transition appropriation bill, that the MPs will be called to scrutinize and vote, will cover the second half of this year.

No details are available on the amount of the bill. But its major objective will be to fight joblessness, which rose from 12.9% to 15.1% between the first and second quarters of 1999, and to combat the side effects of drought.

Under a 1996 constitutional amendment, Morocco's fiscal year was changed from January-December to June-July to allow bill drafters take into account the results of the cereal harvest.

The six-month transition bill will pave the way for the return to the normal fiscal year, January-December.

For its part, the Five-year development plan, which runs from 1999 to 2004, marks a return to such a policy which bets on medium-term development drives.

The Moroccan parliament is made up of a 325-seat house of representatives (lower chamber) and a 270-member chamber of advisors (upper house).

The parliament works into two sessions: a fall session that opens on the second Friday of October and a spring session, opens on the second Friday of April.

The legislative term runs over six years.

Previous Stories:
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  Morocco to post 1.2% growth rate in 2000   (4/14/2000)
  Arab fund grants $8.4 million loan to Morocco   (4/14/2000)

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