King Mohammed VI chairs ministers council this Monday
King Mohammed VI, accompanied by Prince Moulay Rachid, chaired this Monday a ministers council, the first since he ascended the Alawite Throne following the demise of his late father, Hassan II, last July 23.
The king's chairmanship of the ministers council is a constitutional prerogative. Article 26 of the Moroccan Constitution stipulates that "the King shall preside over the ministers council," MAP reported.
At the beginning of the meeting, the council read out the Fatiha (first sourate of the Koran) to the memory of the late King Hassan II.
Besides the renewal of trust in the government, the ministers' council studied a decree related to the second license of the cellular phone, said Moroccan Premier Abderrahmane Youssoufi at the end of the meeting, that was attended by the king's advisors.
The council also discussed means of implementing the political orientations traced by the late King Hassan II in the speech he delivered last July 8 on the occasion of YouthDay, Youssoufi said, adding that King Mohammed VI announced some first measures to implement these orientations.
The late King Hassan II had announced in the youth day speech an employment plan extending between 1999 and 2001 to provide jobs to 60,000 young graduates annually.
The late king had also talked about the ceding of Morocco's second GSM mobile phone license -- to Spanish-Portuguese-Moroccan consortium "Medi-telecoms"-- for $1.08 billion, saying that part of the sum will be used to finance job-generating projects. He had explained that these projects will target, first of all, social housing, breaking the isolation of some areas, electrification, drinking water supply to the rural world, dam building, irrigation, development of the fishing sector and construction of highways.
In his statement after the ministers council, Youssoufi said the Cabinet members hailed King Mohammed VI's trust in the alternation government appointed by the late King Hassan II. This trust is a strong indicator for us all and reveals his Majesty's will to continue the alternation policy and his desire that the changes wished in this country be materialized, he said, adding that he is convinced that all Moroccans and the whole public opinion are delighted at this resolve and decision.