Premier calls for action plan to fight informal economy

Moroccan Prime minister, Driss Jettou, called Wednesday for the elaboration of an action plan to fight informal economy that would necessarily involve public and private operators.

Speaking at the opening of a seminar on "the national strategy against informal economy," Jettou said the action plan may focus on several axes, mainly creation of a watchdog to collect relevant data and conduct targeted investigations so as to list illegal activities and behavior, and the changes they undergo in time and place.

According to a national survey conducted in 1999-2000, informal economy contributes 20% to Morocco's employment, through independent activities, bringing 24% of households' income.

It also makes 94 billion Dh (US$ 10.4 billion) to Morocco's national production, with 63.8 billions of added values. The informal sector also accounts for 15% of national supply and 17% of the GDP.

According to the same survey, there are 1,233,300 informal units in the kingdom.

For the Prime minister, the plan necessitates coordinated actions between the concerned administrations, mainly customs and security services, to help reinforce control at Morocco's entry points.

The plan's success hinges on standards and regulations such as labeling, and mobilization of the necessary human and material resources to follow-up their application, he said, adding that judicial action is also needed to repress economic fraud, especially counterfeiting.

In the same drive, minister of economy, industry, trade and economy upgrade, Salaheddine Mezouar, said it is necessary to integrate the informal sector in the formal one, calling for more efforts to fight under-invoicing. He suggested that July be made month of under-invoicing fighting.