Morocco’s 2020 budget to bolster purchasing power of poor social categories

Morocco’s 2020 draft budget provides for a series of measures to improve the purchasing power of the poor, increases funding for social services and augments spending to back the reforms of the health and education sectors.

The document, shared widely on Moroccan media ahead of its submission to Parliament’s deliberations, allocates 26 billion dirhams for measures to promote the purchasing power of poor people, 18 billion dirhams to reduce social and territorial disparities and 14.6 billion dirhams to subsidies.

The budget also increases funding for education and health to 72.4 billion dirhams and 18.6 billion dirhams respectively and earmarks 9.6 billion dirhams to promote the devolution of powers from the center to regions.

The government expects the budget deficit to remain stable at 3.5% and growth at 3.7% while offering tax facilities to encourage the declaration of assets.

The budget also provides for measures to encourage foreign investments and job creation.

The allocations came at a context of a global economic context marked by trade wars and a sluggish growth in the EU.

2020 would also include 6 billion dirhams as part of the social dialogue to increase wages in public sector.