Morocco to set up social development agency with $ 76 million for job-creation

The Moroccan government announced in Marrakesh Monday that it will allocate $ 76 million for the enforcement of measures to promote employment and will increase the budget earmarked for self-employment from a current 50 million dh ($ 5.4 million) to 100 Mln DH ($ 11 mln).

The measures were announced by minister of social development, solidarity, employment and vocational training, Khalid Alioua at the end of a national colloquy on employment which gathered this December 12-14 over 700 participants representing the government, local councils, non-governmental associations, employers associations and trade unions.

The minister who is also spokesman of the government further announced that he would meet shortly with delegates of unemployed graduates to discuss with them procedures for the use of the 100 million dh budget and that the whole set of laws related to the use of this fund will be adopted before June 1999.

Alioua added that major state-owned enterprises have signed a frame-convention that would contribute to creating thousands of additional jobs while non-governmental organizations have agreed to contribute to carrying out the employment program through the social development agency.

The colloquy decided to set up a social development agency, regional employment promotion groupings, labs of small enterprises and zones of economic activities. The three commissions set by the colloquy, disclosed at a plenary session recommendations for the consolidation of decentralization, easing administrative procedures and promoting an entrepreneurial culture.

Other recommendations provide for the increase of the contribution of state and public enterprises to the "training-integration" program for young graduates and for the elaboration of a draft law for the partial exemption of contributions to the "CNSS" (social security fund) for newly-created firms. The encouragement of the hiring of researchers within enterprises, working out within universities of specific training programs on enterprises creation and the creation of vocational training centers by private enterprises are also among the recommendations.

At the level of human resources, the colloquy recommended to consolidate and modernize continuous training, to set forth an anti-illiteracy program and to include vocational programs in corporate restructuring.

It has also been decided to set up a national employment observatory and an intermediation agency.

The colloquy recommended in addition to speed up the ratification of international conventions on trade union activities, promote collective conventions and adapt national laws to international covenants.