Chamber of advisors adopts law ending state monopoly over audio-visual sector
The Chamber of Advisors (parliament upper House) adopted on Tuesday night a draft law ending the state monopoly over the audio-visual sector.
The draft was passed by 26 votes, 5 against and no abstention. It was supported by the majority and opposition parties.
The political parties stressed the need to provide for all guarantees to preserve Morocco's cultural sensibilities and civilization, consolidate the presence of Morocco on the international scene and secure the information staff rights.
In debates preceding the adoption, the group of "CDT" (Democratic Labor Confederation) said they want written guarantees by the communication minister that all concerned sectors will be associated to the project.
Communication minister, Nabil Benabdellah, told advisors that the sector liberalization does not mean the public media privatization but implies that the sector will be open for other operators and that the staff situation will not be affected.
He announced, in this context, projects to create regional and specialized channels (news, documentaries and culture), in addition to a channel specialized in parliamentary affairs and a Berber-speaking channel.
