Government: Akhannouch takes stock | L’Economiste

The Head of Government’s monthly policy question session before the House of Councillors on Tuesday was packed with figures, and for good reason, as the theme chosen by parliamentarians abounded in this sense: the economic and financial balance sheet and its impact on the dynamics of investment and employment. To fit in, Aziz Akhannouch sought to convince people by lining up the data in a 20-page document. Even his reply to the interventions of parliamentarians, including trade union representatives, followed the same line, which ended up knocking out part of the audience and the citizens who were following this performance live on national radio and television.
After painting a gloomy picture of the economic situation at the time of his arrival at the head of the Executive, the Head of Government asserted that today « we can confidently say that the crisis is now behind us. We are in a phase of construction and new momentum, despite the existence of certain voices that only see the glass as half empty. These are the people who have called for a halt to public investment and the implementation of austerity measures «. However, the Government has taken the opposite path, deciding to rely on public investment as a lever for growth. 
To this end, the Government has therefore taken steps to accelerate the pace of growth in the national economy, by stepping up the investment effort from 230 billion dirhams (US 23 billion) in 2021 to 340 billion dirhams (US 34 billion) this year. This unprecedented figure is helping to create jobs, revitalize the economic machine and build infrastructure in areas that have long been marginalized, particularly in rural areas, said the Head of Government, which has led to the emergence of a new generation of high value-added private investment in vital, strategic sectors of the national economy. In this respect, the Head of Government could not fail to mention the Investment Charter adopted to give concrete impetus to Morocco’s attractiveness to domestic and foreign private investment, through a number of incentive mechanisms in the form of bonuses. Up to May this year, 15 meetings had been held to give impetus to the new Charter, resulting in the approval by the new version of the National Investment Commission of 321 investment projects worth over 437 billion dirhams (US 44 billion). A Among them, 11 strategic projects with a total value of 70 billion dirhams (US 7.7 billion) will contribute to the creation of 220,000 direct and indirect jobs. By the end of May, 86% of the projects approved under the new version of the Commission had already started in the field. 28% have been fully completed, and 36% are in the final stages of completion. ″ This testifies to the seriousness and efficiency with which these investments are being implemented ″ , said Aziz Akhennouch.
To ensure the success of this territorial project, the Government has undertaken a comprehensive reform of the Regional Investment Centers (CRIs). The Government has also revised legislation so that investments worth less than 250 million dirhams (US 27.6 million) can be approved at the regional level.

Mohamed CHAOUI