Government renews self-employment project proposal to jobless graduates

The Moroccan government renewed a proposal to jobless graduates to create self-employment cooperatives.

"I discussed the proposal with the government that allowed me to mobilize funds" for its materialization, Employment Minister Khalid Alioua told the Moroccan television channel "2M."

Joblessness among graduates has been one of the major social issues the Moroccan government is called to settle. Alioua had previously said that there are some 200,000 jobless graduates, in addition to another 15,000 who graduate annually from universities and institutes.

The national unemployment rate is estimated at 17 percent of the active workforce.

The minister said the proposal to set up self-employment cooperatives is not only a political choice, it is also a means to improve the conditions for the integration of youngsters in the active life.

The minister had recently told a Moroccan newspaper, "Al Bayane," that a budget worth $5 million US was allotted to the project that helped find jobs for 14,000 graduates.

Jobless graduates took to the streets in Rabat two weeks ago to claim their "right to employment." The demonstration was dispersed by the police, and the government subsequently expressed regret over the incidents where some demonstrators had been injured.

Relatedly, Alioua ruled out, in an interview with the Paris-based "Jeune Afrique" magazine, that the recent incidents shook popular trust in the socialist-led government, appointed last March in Morocco.

Eight months after its appointment, the government still "enjoys the people's backing," he said, adding that it is up to the government to ensure respect for human rights and the rule of law.