Moroccan officials outline Morocco's economic and political reforms
Morocco, Politics, 7/2/1998

A Moroccan ministerial and business delegation outlined Tuesday the economic and political changes undertaken recently in Morocco at a meeting sponsored by French daily "le Monde."

The meeting, the first of a series to be sponsored by "Le Monde" on several countries, is meant to outline the new political, economic and social situations in Morocco at the core of the reform agenda ushered into Morocco with the coming to power of a socialist-led government and on the eve of the parliament's debate on the first appropriation bill presented by this government.

In an introductory address, Moroccan political analyst Mustapha Shimi noted that Morocco's reform experience is accompanied by the country's modernization project, materialized by a series of deep changes introduced mainly in the field of human rights.

French Analyst Nicole Chevillard, who is known for her "country risk"analyses stressed the positive progress that Morocco achieved as a "risk country."

Ten years ago, Morocco was handicapped by its external debt servicing, an adverse economic situation and a "persnickety administration," she said, highlighting the laudable efforts the North African country is making to clean up its economy and improve its image within the world business community.

Presently, world economic experts describe Morocco as a "moderate risk" country together with Argentina, Jordan and Egypt, said Chevillard, who is also editor-in-chief of the French business paper "Nord-Sud Export" (North-South Export).

Opening the political debate, Moroccan Social Development and Employment Minister Khalid Alioua said the Moroccan government is now pondering ways of implementing a strategy of stable and efficient democratic transition,, Map reported.

Alioua, who is also spokesman for the government, termed the process launched in Morocco a "historic and irreversible turning point." It is not an ephemeral political maneuver, he said.

The minister deplored the delays accumulated in the past years, particularly in matters of modernizing and upgrading Moroccan economic and sociopolitical structures and human resources.

Remedying such a situation happens necessarily through developing new, adaptable forms of productive apparatus by mobilizing capital and labor, he said.

In order to win the battle of "social cohesion," eliminate social deficits and eradicate poverty, Alioua said, the government devised a three-part strategy consisting of consolidating social solidarity, enhancing rapprochement among socioeconomic partners, and backing the upgrading of Moroccan firms with concrete measures including vocational training.

For his part, Finance and Economy Minister Fathallah Oualalou said the economic changes currently underway in Morocco are the continuation of a process that has been ongoing in the past 10 years. The process is mainly meant to improve the global balance, consolidate Morocco's competitive edge and boost investments, he said.

This policy, he said, did not fail to have positive effects on some sectors like phosphates, textile and tourism industries, which started to take off.

Outlining the draft appropriation bill currently tabled before the parliament, Oualalou said the draft budget grants a keen interest to the private sector, "which needs to be boosted" in an "atmosphere of trust."

Morocco's fiscal year runs from July to June and the appropriation bill is drawn in early summer, to enable the bill drafters take into account the state of the cereal harvest and agriculture in general.

Agriculture represents around 20 percent of the country's GDP and employs nearly half of a work force estimated at 10-million strong.

The social concerns are omnipresent in the draft bill, Oualalou said, adding that relaunching the economic machine should, per se, generate resources likely to meet the nation's social concerns.

The government decided to set up practical mechanisms to struggle against poverty through instituting a social development fund and devising a plan of action for the integration of jobless graduates in the employment market, the minister said.

Unemployment is one of the major social ailments in Morocco that would be difficult to fight without an economic growth rate of 7 to 8 percent.

Oualalou stressed the need to enact the necessary modifications to improve and rationalize the budget, which is, he said, marked by worrying unbalance. In order to remedy this situation, the government will seek to reduce global wages and public expenditures, better mark public subsidies and reduce the budget share destined to service the external debt, the Minister said.

Touching on Morocco's regional environment, Oualalou said the North African country's options are dictated by its geographic location, particularly its proximity to Europe and commitments with northern neighbors.

He, however, deplored the imbalance characterizing Morocco's relations with its European partners to the detriment of the North African country.

Criticizing Europe's "passive and security-dominated approach" in its relations with Morocco, Oualalou said Morocco "represents the largest outskirts" of the European countries, and stressed the need to reduce the "dangerous gaps" that separate the two banks of the Mediterranean.

In this regard, he urged Europe and especially France to stand by their commitments to establish a "genuine partnership" for progress with Morocco, because, he said, "economic integration in the Euro-Mediterranean region depends largely on what will happen in Morocco."

France is one of Morocco's major economic partners, although its share in the country's foreign trade dropped slightly in 1996, when trade exchange stood at $2.78 billion (26.7 billion dirhams) compared to $2.895 billion (27.8 billion dh) in the previous year.

Morocco is bound to the European Union by an association accord that will theoretically lead to a free exchange area by the year 2012.

On the fringes of the Paris meeting, economic and financial affairs advisor to King Hassan II, Andre Azoulay, moderated a round table discussion on the economic and political changes in Morocco.

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