Purchasing power. Nadia Fettah provides update on government actions

The government has taken “bold” and “fair” decisions at the same time for the preservation of purchasing power, particularly in this exceptional situation marked by rising prices, said Nadia Fettah, Minister of Economy and Finance Monday in Rabat.

Speaking during a plenary session in the House of Councillors, Fettah affirmed in this sense that the executive has adopted a series of measures to deal with the surge in prices due to the current situation, ensuring in this regard that the subsidy basic products which required an envelope of some 40 billion dirhams (MMDH) in 2022, will continue.

In this context, she specified that the overall support expenses for butane gas are planned at 22.1 billion dirhams, 9.1 billion dirhams for imported wheat, 1.4 billion dirhams for national soft wheat flour, 1.3 billion dirhams for imported sugar, and 3.5 billion dirhams for refined sugar.

The Minister also mentioned the support provided to the sectors impacted by the crisis, which has a direct effect on the purchasing power of citizens, in particular the transport sector which has benefited from support to the tune of 560 million dirhams ( MDH) monthly, announcing the increase in the amount of this support for the month of November by 40% to reach 710 MDH.

Fettah also underlined the allocation of 2 billion dirhams for the support of the tourism sector in order to cope with the repercussions of the crisis, as well as the allocation of 10 billion dirhams to fight once morest the effects of drought, through regular food supplies and the preservation of their price stability.

Concerning the National Electricity and Drinking Water Office (ONEE), the Minister indicated that 5 billion dirhams were devoted to support and capacity building of the Office, whose financial situation was impacted by the increase in the price of raw materials on the international markets, in order to keep the prices of the various services offered by ONEE unchanged.

In this sense, she noted that the state budget supports 75 dirhams of every 100 dirhams, and 125 dirhams of every 200 dirhams paid by the citizen in his electricity bill.

The minister also highlighted the importance attached to supporting employees’ purchasing power and protecting their rights, through the implementation of the social dialogue commitments made by the government under the agreement historical agreement concluded with the social partners, specifying that the overall cost of social dialogue for the public sector amounts to 9.2 billion dirhams.

All the agreements resulting from the social dialogue should cost some 40 billion additional dirhams for the year 2022, without resorting to debt or stopping credits allocated to investment, or having an impact on the budget deficit. , she said, noting that it was reduced by 0.6% of gross domestic product (GDP), or regarding 7 billion dirhams.