Road transport subsidies: Over 5.9 billion dirhams disbursed
The Finance Bill is an opportunity to take stock of a number of issues. Public transport subsidies are one of them. According to a document from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, since its launch to date, there have been 11 disbursements of the exceptional support allocated to professionals in the road transport sector to the tune of almost 5.921 billion Dirhams (USD 592 million) for the period from April 2022 to last September.
This support reached 4.421 billion Dirhams (USD 442 million) for 2022. This year, for the period from January to September, the amount was around 1.5 billion Dirhams (USD 150 million).
As of Friday, October 27, 2023, the registration procedure for the 12th instalment to support road transport professionals has been launched. Total support for transport professionals will reach 2 billion Dirhams (USD 200 million) for the period from January to October 2023. This brings the total financial package allocated to road transport professionals since the beginning of this process to 6.421 billion Dirhams (USD 642 million). It should be pointed out that the Government increased the value of this support to professionals by 40% during the 4th session in July 2022 and the 7th session in November of the same year, due to the sharp rise in fuel prices nationwide.
For the supporters of this formula, maintaining the purchasing power of Moroccan citizens was at the heart of the government’s concerns. The government wants to ensure the stability of basic goods and services that affect citizens’ budgets. This is to ensure a decent standard of living for all components of Moroccan society, according to the document distributed to members of the Finance Committee. Given the rise in fuel prices at national level, and with the aim of maintaining the stability of passenger and goods transport tariffs, the Government has been working since April 2022 to launch this operation to grant exceptional direct support to each vehicle.
The document also discussed the fundamentals of this operation. As part of the study of this support and the implementation of its foundations, a commission made up of the various ministries concerned has been set up. These include the Departments of the Interior, Finance, Equipment, and Transport.
Mohamed CHAOUI
