King Mohammed calls government to endeavor to stimulate investments
Morocco, Economics, 7/31/2001

Morocco's King Mohammed VI called this Monday the government to enforce concrete and investment-inducing measures and programs to stimulate productive and job-generating investments and carry out well-defined and realistic projects.

In a speech aired by the Moroccan radio and TV on the occasion of the Throne Day, the king recalled that adopting the market economy required much patience and persuasion strength to gather the needed consensus and overcome the multiple objective and subjective obstacles that hindered the development of a liberal economy.

He explained that the battle to lift these obstacles included encouraging Moroccan enterprises to break with old customs that run counter to the free initiative and endeavoring to put administration at the service of investments. In addition, he went on, we also sought to make the general atmosphere more conducive to investments, by creating regional single offices dealing with investments applications, reducing production costs and encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises by adopting a charter that consolidates their job-generating role and gives them best chances to manage their investment files in a modern manner while guaranteeing their funds.

At the same time, the Hassan II fund for economic and social development was given a prime role as a stimulator of productive investments and an efficient tool for developing national economic wealth, said the king who announced that the status of the fund was changed to make of it a national agency. The fund, fed by privatization receipts, worked to overcome major obstacles to investments, mainly the hike in the price of real estate properties and the insufficiency of developed sites, the King said, recalling that the fund developed industrial compounds and tourism and commercial sites sold to investors for reasonable prices. Other actions include financing projects that drain private investments and supporting the sector of construction and low-cost housing, the building of highways and other infrastructure projects, as well as micro-finance institutions and developing information and communication technologies.

In speaking about productive investments, the king singled out the sector of tourism which he called "a powerful development engine" in view of the considerable jobs opportunities it creates and the hard currencies it generates. He also recalled the target of attracting an annual 10 million tourists by end of the decade, urging the government to speed up adoption of laws related to the sector in order to set in place a fair and transparent hotel-grading system.

The sovereign also argued that the government should use privatization resources in rigorously-chosen projects to create additional wealth. He also insisted on the need to rationalize public expenses, fight squandering and preserve economic and financial balances, obtained after years of sacrifices. The banking sector also needs to intensify its modernization and investment efforts and clear the financial situation of some of its enterprises.

Meanwhile, the sovereign went on, investment stimulation does not only depend on material and financial conditions, but also on the existence of a sound social climate and of a cooperation and partnership spirit in labor relations. Therefore, he urged trade unions, enterprises and public authorities to adopt a new social culture, based on citizenship values and constant dialogue and favoring efforts to guarantee jobs and investments, if Morocco is to win the battle of globalization and competitiveness. "That is why we renew our plea to the government to diligently adopt the law on the economic and social council."

The sovereign further considers that attracting investments and creating jobs do no only rely on a propitious sound social climate but also a new general social contract that guarantees the enforcement of the labor code, a law regulating the exercise of the right to go on strike, and a compulsory health insurance system.

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