Five-year development plan sets average growth rate at 5%, youssoufi
Morocco, Economics, 7/19/2000

The 2000-2004 economic and social development plan sets the annual growth rate of the GDP to about 5 % in average, knowing that the growth must reach by the end of the plan 6.4 % instead of the 2.2 % scored in average during the past nine years, said Moroccan Prime Minister, Abderrahmane Youssoufi.

The Prime Minister who was addressing Tuesday the Chamber of Advisors (upper house of the Moroccan parliament) during the presentation of the plan said reaching the targeted growth requires a tangible improvement of investments and savings that must increase respectively by 28% and 27.3 % in 2004 compared to 24.2 % and 23.3 % in 1999.

The plan targets a strong job-generating growth through the alleviation of the debt burden, the preservation of fundamental balances of the economy and the curbing of inflation so that prices increases do not exceed 2.5 % per year in average, Youssoufi said.

The plan grants special interest to small and medium-sized enterprises and provides for the promulgation of a charter defining the commitments of these enterprises and the state's backing programs. An observatory of small and medium-sized enterprises and a national agency in charge of promoting these enterprises will also be set up, he said.

The 2000-2004 economic and social development plan provides for the reform of the administration and the education system, the fight against corruption, and measures to guarantee the independence of justice, and consolidate human rights, Youssoufi said adding the efforts to update Moroccan legislation and to harmonize it with the economic, social and cultural environment will be carried on.

The plan equally provides for the promotion of the rural world through the expansion of drinking water supply to the rural population as the rate will grow up from 38% in 1999 to 62% in 2004, electrification will cover 70 % of the rural areas in 2004 compared to 39 % in 1999 and the telephone network will cover 2.6 of the rural territory instead of 0.55 % in 1998. Under the plan, 2210 km of roads will be built every year.

The plan targets the generalization of schooling in the rural world by year 2002 and the reduction of mothers' death rate from 3.1 per 1000 in 1997 to 2.7 per 1000 in 2004.

Regarding employment, Youssoufi said adequate mechanisms to promote training-integration programs and energize the national employment promotion agency will be set up. He added that the national promotion department will create about 48.8 million work days, which equal 40,550 permanent jobs, from July 2000 to December 2004.

In housing matters, Youssoufi said the Hassan II fund earmarked $ 180 million to build 11,500 low-cost lodgings and equip 4,854 plots of land.

The plan has been adopted by the House of representatives (Lower house) last Saturday.

Previous Stories:
  Casablanca Airport Gets Press Bureau   (7/18/2000)
  Morocco settles 68 human rights abuse cases   (7/18/2000)
  Over 4 million foreign tourists expected in Morocco by 2004, minister   (7/17/2000)
  Over 4 million foreign tourists expected in Morocco by 2004, minister   (7/17/2000)
  Morocco's house of representatives adopts 2000-2004 development plan   (7/17/2000)
  Morocco's house of representatives adopts 2000-2004 development plan   (7/17/2000)
  Moroccan textile enterprises to be upgraded as of next September   (7/15/2000)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search