The most prominent headlines of Moroccan newspapers issued today, Thursday, August 15, 2024

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Below is a presentation of the most prominent headlines in the national newspapers issued today, Thursday, August 15, 2024:

Highway strike (Moroccan events)

The National Union of Operators of the National Company of Motorways in Morocco announced that road workers will go on a partial warning strike at all toll stations in the exploitation centers on August 16, 17, 18, and 23, 24, and 25, with the provision of emergency relief services. According to a statement from the National Office of the Union, which is part of the Moroccan Labor Union, the decision to strike comes in protest against “closing the door to dialogue and undermining union rights, defending the entitlements of employees, providing the elements of decent work and a decent life for employees, and expressing the extent of discontent and anger in light of the situation in the sector.” The Union of Motorway Users criticized what it called a “systematic retreat” by the General Administration of Motorways from “implementing its commitments and obligations and its retreat from the rights and gains of employees, which contributed to the tension in the social climate within the sector.”

From 10 to 20 dirhams.. Sardine prices are on fire (Al-Ahdath Al-Maghribia)

The price of sardines has increased in less than a month from 10 dirhams per kilogram to settle between 20 and 25 dirhams yesterday, depending on the market, making it out of reach for families with limited income. The reason for this increase in the price of sardines, according to professionals, is related to the increase announced earlier by the National Confederation of Marine Fishing in Morocco, as there is an agreement reached by representatives of ship suppliers and fish traders in Moroccan ports and markets to increase the reference price for selling sardines by 25 cents, given the difficulty of the current situation for all actors. But how can an increase of 25 cents per kilogram amount to more than 5 dirhams when it reaches the consumer? A question answered by professionals is that speculation raises fish prices, as the price of a box of sardines reached 450 dirhams yesterday.

Customs besieges manipulators of exemptions (Sabah)

The information system of the Customs and Indirect Taxes Administration has detected conflicting data in import and export companies’ declarations. Sources reported that importers submitted import request documents related to imports benefiting from the temporary system, while others provided false data about the goods they imported by manipulating their technical specifications data, with the aim of reducing customs duties. Al-Yawmiya’s sources confirmed that members of the national brigade are conducting field monitoring in the warehouses of the importers concerned by the investigations, noting that suspicions surround them of importing goods under the temporary admission system, but they are re-marketing them in the domestic market without exporting them, which allows them to achieve large profit margins, given that customs duties are not paid on them.

Distribution of psychotropic substances outside the law (morning)

Pharmacists are angry because a pharmaceutical laboratory is distributing some drugs classified as psychotropic substances to a network of doctors, despite the fact that the law prohibits this. Pharmacists did not stand idly by, as they recently filed a complaint with the Director of Drugs and Pharmacy, in which they said that they had once again observed samples of drugs classified as psychotropic substances being delivered to a group of doctors by a laboratory, which they mentioned by name in their complaint. In the same complaint, the Confederation of Moroccan Pharmacists Unions demanded that the Directorate of Drugs put an end to what it described as “chaos” in a punitive manner that would deter any laboratory that dares to achieve purely promotional and material purposes, through what they described in their complaint as “health lapses and legal violations.” The pharmaceutical sector in Morocco is witnessing a series of irregularities that are not limited to laboratories, but have often extended to the Directorate of Drugs itself, where national institutions have recorded violations within it, and its directors have been dismissed many times.

Controversy over the results of the medical match returns to the forefront again (News)

The announcement of the results of the national medical school entrance exam did not pass without notable criticism of these results, with disappointment recorded from a number of families whose children were unlucky, while many candidates questioned the credibility and integrity of the results. The announcement of the results of the national medical school entrance exam was accompanied by a legitimate question from parents about the reason for merely sending “emails” to the officially successful candidates, as well as releasing the lists announcing the national card numbers of the candidates, without their names on the waiting lists, unlike previous years. Critics of the formula for adopting the national card numbers, without attaching them to the names, opened the door to comparing the formula adopted in the private medical school entrance exams with the national exam, after the waiting lists in the private colleges included the names of the candidates in addition to their national cards, which enhances the guarantees of equal opportunities and blocks all practices that may undermine the credibility of this exam.

Price hikes reach imported school books (News)

The controversy over the high prices of imported school books has resurfaced, just a few weeks before the 2024-2025 school year, sparking widespread discontent among Moroccan families, as complaints have increased about the exaggerated price of these books, at a time when there is no body responsible for regulating the pricing of school curricula coming from abroad. Professionals in the sector confirmed that pricing is doubling between the wholesale market and the retail market, attributing this to the actions of some owners of private libraries and retail stores, who exploit the absence of pricing announced on book covers to impose high prices according to their desire, without any actual oversight from the competent authorities. The professionals said that this matter concerns imported books in particular, as Moroccan importers are the ones who “set their prices, without any oversight from any government body,” adding that this leads to a doubling of the cost of imported school books in the Moroccan market.

Paris Olympics.. Sports universities are subject to criticism and talk of establishing a higher council for sports returns again (Al-Alam)

The repercussions of the “resonant” failure and “catastrophic” outcome of Moroccan athletes at the Olympic Games held in Paris continue to cast their shadows on the national sports street, which did not accept the failure of most of the national elite and their fall one after the other in the preliminary rounds, despite the huge financial resources allocated to them in order to record honorable results. A state of turmoil and discontent prevails on social media, with “tweeters” demanding that those responsible be held accountable for those results, stressing the need to inspect the finances of sports universities and the methods of spending them on athletes. Sports activists believe that it is time to establish a Supreme Council for Sports, independent of all politics, whose mission is to develop a national strategy for the sports sector in general, and to draw the broad lines of the general policy to be followed, by coordinating between the various universities that will be subject to its supervision.

Alarming numbers of the spread of “Bouhamroun” and a call to adhere to the vaccination schedule (Al-Alam)

Measles, known to Moroccans as “Bouhamroun”, has once again spread this month with alarming numbers, which may indicate the possibility of undeclared outbreaks. Local sources in several regions of the Kingdom, as well as on social media, have previously announced numerous cases of infection and deaths, which have not been confirmed by official sources. In the same context, civil society activists have reacted and sounded the alarm regarding the spread of “Bouhamroun” in the Chichaoua region. Dr. Khaled Fathi indicated that the measles cases that have reappeared are due to children not receiving vaccinations. In a statement to the newspaper, he stressed the need to take the vaccine provided by the state in all local clinics for free, calling on all families to adhere to the vaccination schedule approved within the framework of the national immunization program, which includes two doses against measles in the ninth and eighteenth months.

Study: 90% of Moroccans are religious (Al-Ummah Message)

Morocco has ranked 13th globally among the most religious countries in the world, according to a study conducted by the American Pew Center, which specializes in demographic and social research on the most religious countries in the world (102 countries). According to the study, which was based on opinion polls conducted between 2008 and 2023, about 90 percent of Moroccans considered religion an important part of their daily lives. The study revealed that Moroccans topped the list of people in the Middle East and North Africa who consider religion important in their lives. In terms of regularity in prayer, Morocco ranked 28th globally, with more than 70 percent of Moroccans participating in the survey confirming that they pray daily, placing Morocco fourth in the Middle East and North Africa.

Hilal: Algeria preferred, as usual, to serve its anti-Moroccan agenda at the expense of the African cause (Al-Ummah Message)

The Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations, Omar Hilale, sent a response letter to the President and members of the Security Council following the provocative, misleading and erroneous statement made by the Secretary-General of the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara during a Council meeting, stressing that the Algerian delegate had, as usual, unleashed his country’s hatred of Morocco and its pathological obsession with the Moroccan Sahara. Hilale noted in this letter that during the discussion held in the Security Council, chaired by Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, and devoted to the theme “Maintaining international peace and security: redressing historical injustice and strengthening Africa’s effective representation in the Security Council”, Algeria, whose candidacy for membership in the Security Council was adopted by the Summit of African Heads of State in order to defend the legitimate interests of the continent, primarily African representation in the Security Council, “preferred, as usual, to serve its national agenda hostile to Morocco at the expense of the African cause.”

Tourism.. The slow death of travel agencies (L’Inspiracion Eco)

Moroccan travel agencies are experiencing a paradoxical situation, to say the least. While tourism indicators are soaring from one record to another (104.7 billion dirhams and 14.5 million visitors in 2023), the majority of travel agencies are going through a “tragic situation,” according to Mohamed Semlali, president of the National Federation of Travel Agencies in Morocco. Of the two thousand agencies registered in Morocco, at least half are said to be dormant, and at best they only survive on religious tourism, Umrah and Hajj.

“Medical Deserts”: New graduates will work first in rural areas (The Economist)

In order to address the significant imbalance in the performance of the health system, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection has taken a “strong” measure, which will come into effect from the beginning of the next school year in September. From now on, all medical students, nurses and health technicians from the Higher Institutes of Nursing Professions and Health Techniques, who have completed their studies, will have to work “mandatorily” in these remote and difficult-to-access areas for a period of 3 years. These categories will move in particular to remote and difficult-to-access areas during this period. Details on the duration and forms of this rotation have not been disclosed. On the other hand, one thing is certain: the Ministry believes that by implementing such a measure, of course by approving the decision, the “medical deserts” will gradually disappear from the Kingdom.

Hilal: Algeria preferred, as usual, to serve its anti-Moroccan agenda at the expense of the African cause (Al-Ummah Message)

The Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations, Omar Hilale, sent a response letter to the President and members of the Security Council following the provocative, misleading and erroneous statement made by the Secretary-General of the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara during a Council meeting, stressing that the Algerian delegate had, as usual, unleashed his country’s hatred of Morocco and its pathological obsession with the Moroccan Sahara. Hilale noted in this letter that during the discussion held in the Security Council, chaired by Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, and devoted to the theme “Maintaining international peace and security: redressing historical injustice and strengthening Africa’s effective representation in the Security Council”, Algeria, whose candidacy for membership in the Security Council was adopted by the Summit of African Heads of State in order to defend the legitimate interests of the continent, primarily African representation in the Security Council, “preferred, as usual, to serve its national agenda hostile to Morocco at the expense of the African cause.”

Tourism.. The slow death of travel agencies (L’Inspiracion Eco)

Moroccan travel agencies are experiencing a paradoxical situation, to say the least. While tourism indicators are soaring from one record to another (104.7 billion dirhams and 14.5 million visitors in 2023), the majority of travel agencies are going through a “tragic situation,” according to Mohamed Semlali, president of the National Federation of Travel Agencies in Morocco. Of the two thousand agencies registered in Morocco, at least half are said to be dormant, and at best they only survive on religious tourism, Umrah and Hajj.

“Medical Deserts”: New graduates will work first in rural areas (The Economist)

In order to address the significant imbalance in the performance of the health system, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection has taken a “strong” measure, which will come into effect from the beginning of the next school year in September. From now on, all medical students, nurses and health technicians from the Higher Institutes of Nursing Professions and Health Techniques, who have completed their studies, will have to work “mandatorily” in these remote and difficult-to-access areas for a period of 3 years. These categories will move in particular to remote and difficult-to-access areas during this period. Details on the duration and forms of this rotation have not been disclosed. On the other hand, one thing is certain: the Ministry believes that by implementing such a measure, of course by approving the decision, the “medical deserts” will gradually disappear from the Kingdom.