MOROCCO, July 8 - The unified social register project is progressing smoothly and will be generalized soon after the trial phase, said Thursday in Rabat, Minister Delegate in charge of Relations with Parliament, Government Spokesman, Mustapha Baitas.

This project, the trial phase of which has been launched in Rabat and Kenitra pending its generalization to the entire national territory, "will allow the government to have a mechanism to directly target poor households, without being limited to a horizontal support scheme," he said at a press briefing held after the weekly Cabinet meeting.

In this regard, Baitas recalled that 10 billion dirhams have been mobilized from the Social Protection and Social Cohesion Support Fund, 4.2 billion dirhams of which were dedicated to basic compulsory health insurance (AMO) as part of the royal project to generalize social protection.

MAD 3,5 billion are intended to support the schooling of children under the programs "Tayssir", "aid to widows" and "a million school bags", while 1.7 billion dirhams were earmarked for the acquisition of medication and support for hospitals.

Another 250 million dirhams have been dedicated to strengthening access infrastructure, namely kinder-gardens, as part of the vision that targets marginalized neighborhoods and the countryside, he said.

Regarding employment, Baitas noted that the government has allocated 3.5 billion dirhams to support the youth through the "Forsa" and "Awrach" programs.

16 billion dirhams have been transferred to the Compensation Fund to support the purchasing power of citizens, not to mention the support to the sector of transport professionals with 2.2 billion dirhams after the decision to raise the subsidy to 40%, he added.

Regarding the health sector, the Government Spokesman noted that there has been an increase in the sector's budget of about 3 billion dirhams compared to 2021, adding that the sector's overall budget is 23.5 billion dirhams.

Baitas also noted that the government has increased the budget of the national education sector to 62.5 billion dirhams, i.e a 6.1% increase, while the investment budget in the education sector increased by 40%.

According to the minister, 2 billion dirhams have been mobilized for the promotion of tourism, which is now experiencing a clear recovery and contributes significantly to the national economy.

The government spokesman also mentioned the social agreement reached between the government and the most representative trade unions which provides for a 10% increase in the minimum wage in the industry, trade and services sectors, as well as the increase of the minimum wage in the civil service to 3,500 dirhams.

MAP 07 July 2022