The most prominent headlines of Moroccan newspapers issued today, Saturday, July 20, 2024

Agadir24

Below is a presentation of the most prominent headlines in the national newspapers issued today, Saturday, July 20, 2024:

“Initial agreement” between majority and opposition paves way for strike law in parliament (news)

A preliminary consensus between the parliamentary majority and opposition paves the way for the approval of the draft law on strikes during the current legislative session. In their interventions during the meeting of the Social Sectors Committee, dedicated to discussing draft organic law No. 97.15 defining the conditions and methods for exercising the right to strike, in the presence of the Minister of Economic Integration, Small Business, Employment and Skills, Younes Sekkouri, the majority groups stressed “the importance of issuing an agreed-upon law that reflects the rights and aspirations of the working class, given that this text plays a vital role in achieving social peace and ensuring the stability of investments.” For their part, the opposition groups considered that this text needs a national consensus because it concerns society as a whole and all parties, calling for “expanding consultations with various unions regardless of their representation, and in-depth dialogue with various social partners and experts.”

The government announces its readiness to dialogue with medical students (Al-Akhbar)

The government has reopened a window for dialogue with medical and pharmacy students. Mustapha Baitas, Minister in charge of Relations with Parliament and Government Spokesperson, said in a press conference following the government council meeting that the government is ready to continue the dialogue with students, stressing that the government is interacting with the issue of medical students “in good faith, and has responded to various points on the dialogue table.” Baitas recalled that in a previous meeting, he had provided “answers to various questions and concerns related to training, scholarships, engineering and the training ground.” He pointed out that a committee had been held at the level of the House of Representatives, attended by the two ministers concerned, and “they provided various answers, and there was parliamentary mediation on this issue.”

The government will reveal the initial features of the 2025 Finance Bill next Thursday (Sahara Morocco)

The preparation of the 2025 Finance Bill has entered an important phase, as the government is expected to reveal, next Thursday, the initial features of what the bill will be before the two specialized committees in the House of Representatives and the House of Advisors. In accordance with the provisions of Article 47 of the Organic Law on the Finance Law and the requirements of the internal regulations of the House of Representatives and the House of Advisors, the Finance and Economic Development Committee of the House of Representatives and the Finance, Planning and Economic Development Committee of the House of Advisors hold a joint meeting before July 31 of each year, during which the Minister Delegate in charge of Finance presents the general framework for preparing the draft law for the following year. The provisions of Article 47 also include the government submitting a presentation on the development of the national economic situation, the progress of the implementation of the Finance Law for the current year up to June 30 of the same year, and data related to economic and financial policy, as well as the overall budget programming for three years.

The Royal Hajj Committee studies preparations for the Hajj season 1446 AH and procedures for the Hajj season 1447 AH (Moroccan Sahara)

The Royal Hajj Committee held a meeting in Rabat during which it reviewed the circumstances of the 1445 AH Hajj season, and also studied the preparations for the 1446 AH Hajj season and the procedures for the 1447 AH Hajj season. A statement from the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs stated that after discussing the items on the agenda, the committee recommended, for the 1446 AH Hajj season, that citizens selected in the Hajj lottery within the official organization list pay an approximate amount of 65,000 dirhams, and that the final cost of the Hajj will be determined later, either by increase or decrease. The same source added that the committee also recommended setting the period for collecting Hajj expenses at Barid Bank offices, for both organizations, from Monday 2 to Friday 20 September 2024, with the acceptance of certified checks, and starting medical examinations immediately after the completion of the Hajj expenses payment process.

High prices push one million Moroccans to spend vacation abroad (Sabah)

The high cost of services provided by tourism sector players has led a million Moroccans to flee abroad to spend their summer vacations in Spain, Portugal, Turkey and other countries as part of individual travel or through groups organized by travel agencies. A report prepared by a thematic committee to evaluate public policies on the tourism sector, the results of which will be presented to the House of Advisors next week, noted that this situation is due to weak or non-existent oversight, which means poor quality of services in terms of food and cleanliness of places, and the refusal of players to advertise prices and consider summer a “hint” to double them, whether in terms of hotel accommodation, food or drinks. The report highlighted that these factors hinder families, especially the middle class, from benefiting from the advantages of domestic tourism, and push them to compare prices in Morocco, Spain, Portugal and Turkey and the quality of services provided, forcing them to travel outside Morocco.

Praise for the business climate in Morocco (Sabah)

The US State Department has issued its annual report on the global investment climate, in which it reviewed Morocco’s qualifications and ambitions as a country that actively works to “encourage and facilitate” foreign investment, and establishes its position as a “regional business hub” and a “gateway” to the African continent. In its report, US diplomacy highlighted that “Morocco effectively encourages and facilitates foreign investment, particularly in export-oriented sectors such as manufacturing, thanks to positive macroeconomic policies, trade liberalization, investment incentives and structural reforms.”

Considering Amazigh a foreign language by an educational institution raises controversy (Al Massae)

The Popular Movement Party has responded to the uproar over the classification of the King Fahd Higher School of Amazigh Translation as a “foreign language.” The party’s Secretary General and member of its parliamentary group, Mohamed Ouzzine, said that classifying Amazigh as a foreign language in its homeland is “an insult from an institution that is considered a reference for translation and a serious violation of the constitution, as well as all the founding regulatory laws such as the framework law for education, training and scientific research and the regulatory law to determine the stages of activating the official status of Amazigh.” He stressed that “the government’s political responsibility is fixed for this dangerous deviation from all these comprehensive national constants, given that it is essentially issued by a public Moroccan university, and not just one of its branches, funded by Moroccan taxes.” Ouzzine called on the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Abdel Latif Miraoui, to “urgently intervene to stop this lapse that violates the constitution and the law.”

Environmental movement demands investigation into how 125 billion dirhams were spent (Al Massae)

The “Morocco Environment 2050” movement criticized in a statement what it described as “spending billions of dirhams on oases and argan areas to no avail and without these huge sums benefiting the population.” The movement said that 125 billion dirhams ($12 billion) in public investments were spent on oases and argan during the period between 2012 and 2022, according to official figures from the Agency for the Development of Oases and Argan Tree Areas. The movement stated that “despite these important investments, the aforementioned areas have witnessed a massive migration of residents to cities as a direct result of the deterioration of these oases and argan areas, which will have a negative and dangerous impact on people and the environment.” The “Morocco Environment 2050” movement questioned the aspects of spending and investing the aforementioned “huge” sums, calling for an honest and transparent investigation to clarify the aspects of spending these budgets.

Youssef Idhi: Most of the articles of the draft strike law “contradict” the constitution (Socialist Union)

Youssef Idi, Secretary General of the Democratic Confederation of Labor, confirmed that most of the articles of the draft law regulating strikes submitted to Parliament “contradict” the Constitution. Idi noted, in a statement to the newspaper, that the natural course of this project is within the mechanism of social dialogue and collective bargaining, considering it “a decisive project in a basic union right for which the Moroccan union movement has fought for decades and made great sacrifices.” He stressed that “the government’s approach to this project will lead to more social tension and strikes at the heart of a fundamental right of Moroccan workers.” He stressed that the government must discuss the draft law regulating strikes within the framework of social dialogue and in agreement with all relevant national components.

Grain production declines to 31.2 million quintals and the treasury’s external debt continues to rise (Socialist Union)

The High Commission for Planning confirmed that the economic situation in 2024 will witness many changes, indicating in its bulletin on the preparation of the forward-looking economic budget for 2025, that the total treasury debt will continue to rise in 2024 to reach 70.3 percent of GDP instead of 69.5 percent in 2023, which means that its size will remain at levels higher than those recorded during the period preceding the health crisis. In its new bulletin, the Commission reviewed many indicative data that have an impact on the economic situation, in relation to the past, current and next year, stopping in this regard at a number of sectors, including the agricultural sector, where it highlighted that grain production stabilized at around 31.2 million quintals instead of 55.1 million quintals during the last season, i.e. a decrease of up to 43 percent, due to successive years of drought.

To enhance trade exchanges.. A British economic delegation visits Morocco (Al-Ummah Message)

The President of the Moroccan Exporters Union, Hassan Sentissi, accompanied by a number of members of the Union’s Executive Office and managers of export companies to Britain, received in Casablanca a delegation of logistics players representing a group of major British ports. A statement from the Union said that the delegation, which is on a working visit to Morocco, represents major ports, namely “UK Ports Group”, “Forth Ports”, “Hutchison”, “Wake Lines UK”, “Peel”, “DP World”, “Port of Bristol”, “DP Port”, “Port of Tilbury” and “Port of Felixstowe”. The same source confirmed that this meeting is part of the growing desire of both parties to explore various ways to enhance the flow of bilateral trade between Morocco and the United Kingdom.

Maghreb Arab Press Agency and Italian News Agency “Italpress” Strengthen Their Cooperation in the Field of Media (Risalat Al-Ummah)

A memorandum of understanding and cooperation was signed in Rabat between the Maghreb Arab Press Agency (MAP) and the Italian news agency “Italpress News Agency”, aiming to strengthen their cooperation in the field of media. The memorandum of understanding, initialed by the Director General of the Maghreb Arab Press Agency, Fouad Arif, and the Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of “Italpress”, Gaspare Borsellino, aims to strengthen the exchange of news and multimedia content and organize training and education courses for journalists from the two agencies. Under this agreement, the two parties commit to providing technical means for media production and cooperation in several projects, and developing their capacities, particularly in the fields of media and modern technologies. According to the memorandum of understanding, the two parties also agreed to strengthen multi-faceted cooperation.

African Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology – French Language A platform at the service of Morocco’s influence on the continent (Le Matin)

The Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Abdellatif Miraoui, affirmed in Rabat that the African Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology – French language, is an indispensable platform for the service of Morocco’s influence on the continental level in the field of space science and technology. Miraoui, who chaired the 11th regular session of the Administrative Council of the African Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology – French language, highlighted the importance of the role played by this center in training more than 500 specialists from African countries in fields such as space remote sensing, geographic information systems, meteorology, global climate studies, satellite communication, and the global navigation system, which constitutes an effective model for African and multilateral cooperation.

“Marhaba 2024”: Moroccan ports recorded the passage of about 538 thousand passengers until July 15 (Liberation)

Minister of Transport and Logistics Mohamed Abdeljalil reported to the House of Advisors that about 538,000 passengers had crossed Moroccan ports until July 15 as part of Operation “Marhaba 2024”, an increase of 4 percent compared to the same period of “Marhaba 2023”. Abdeljalil stressed, while presenting a presentation on the “interim results of Operation Marhaba 2024” to the Committee on the Interior, Territorial Communities and Infrastructure, that the ministry will continue with all its components the comprehensive mobilization so that the stage of arrival of members of the community and their passage through the crossing points passes in appropriate conditions, by strengthening coordination and exchange of information and anticipating some aspects related to the management of peak days between all stakeholders.