Morocco’s 2021 draft budget to keep jobs, spur coronavirus hit economy

In accordance with Royal guidance, the government has elaborated a draft budget that provides for special measures to keep jobs, promote youth employment, generalize health insurance and reform civil service.

The government, which examined the draft budget in its council, said in a statement that priority is attached to shoring up the economy through offering incentives for firms to keep jobs and helping entrepreneurs through state-guaranteed loans.

In this respect, the Mohammed VI investment fund will support large-scale investments and businesses. The fund will inject in the economy 45 billion dirhams, part of 230 billion dirhams of public investments planned under the 2021 budget.

Another flagship project announced earlier by King Mohammed VI is the generalization of basic health coverage as part of a generalization of social protection for all in five years.

The health budget will be increased by 2 billion dirhams to 20 billion dirhams to upgrade the sector after the pandemic revealed serious flaws. 5,500 new jobs are allocated to health in 2021 amid a serious deficit in the number of doctors and nurses.

The draft budget also provides for measures to improve the efficiency of state-owned firms through merging companies and disbanding others.

In this connection, a special agency will be set up to oversee the role of the state as a stakeholder in companies and improve their performance.

Education has also been identified as a priority sector and shall receive 72 billion dirhams as well as the creation of 18,000 new jobs.

The budget was based on an expected growth rate of 4.8% and a fiscal deficit of 6.5%.