Finance Law 2024: First dashboard

The machinery for the official preparation of the Finance Law for 2024 has been started. The Prime Minister has just signed and distributed to ministers the guidance note for the preparation of the draft budget for next year.

For 2024 and the following years, the Cabinet will strive to gradually reduce the budget deficit so as to place public finances « on the path of reducing the volume of indebtedness, strengthening the financial balance, and reconstitution of the financial margins necessary for the pursuit of the various development projects ”, according to this 16-page note. To do so, the Cabinet expects a growth rate of nearly 3.7% in 2024 versus 3.4% in 2023, while continuing to reduce the budget deficit to 4% in 2024 versus 4.5% expected. at the end of this year. In order to activate the royal orientations, in particular those contained in the Throne Day Speech, and the pillars of the Government’s program, the Finance Law of 2024 has established four priorities, one of which concerns the consolidation of measures to deal with cyclical effects. It is certain that the measures taken to control the level of inflation and bring it back to pre-crisis levels have begun to bear fruit through the decline in the rate recorded in recent months. However, vigilance and monitoring must be maintained by stepping up efforts to achieve the necessary balance between fiscal and monetary policy. The goal is to reduce the inflation rate to a level equivalent to 3.4% in 2024, and 2% from 2025 onwards.

 ■ Supporting the agricultural sector: To this end, it will be necessary to consolidate measures aimed at supporting agricultural commodities and fodder, in parallel with the development of the production and distribution sectors within the framework of the «Green Generation» strategy. It is imperative to ensure the implementation of the commitments included in the 19 program contracts signed at the beginning of this year.

 ■ The issue of water and climate: The government will speed up the implementation of the components of the national drinking water supply and irrigation program, with a budget of 143 billion Dirhams (USD 14 billion) for the 2020-2027 period.

 ■ Pursuing structural reforms and sectoral strategies: Several projects are mentioned in the guidance note. These range from the gradual digital transformation project and the modernization of judicial administration to the simplification of procedures, including the implementation of administrative reform. The same applies to the devolution process, and progress in the implementation of advanced regionalization. These are two key areas for strengthening the governance of public administration.

Mohamed CHAOUI