While the prices of gasoline (17DH/L) and diesel (15.50DH/L) have reached record levels, Moroccans persist and sign on the urgency of an imminent reaction from the government, which must take measures to mitigate this outbreak. The Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, revealed the causes of the problem and the measures taken by the government to deal with it.
Like her colleagues in government, the Minister for Energy Transition, Leila Benali, told MoroccoLatestNews that the unprecedented rise in prices of all energy materials, which marks the year 2022, is due to a set of external factors, noting that the spike in energy prices has affected various countries around the world.
According to the minister, the rise in fuel prices” is due to the decline in international investment in the extraction of petroleum products and its derivatives, and the strong oil demand observed after the gradual exit from the Covid-19 health crisis, in addition to the war in Ukraine and the sanctions international against Russia “.
The minister pointed out that the current energy crisis has impacted all countries in the world, including those with large production and refining capacity, whose domestic markets have seen a record rise in fuel prices.
Thus, it should be recalled that the measures taken by the government to mitigate the effects of rising fuel prices on citizens mainly relate to the exceptional support granted to transport professionals and the butane gas subsidy.
Moreover, electricity prices in Morocco “did not see an increase, even though the basic products for electricity production, such as fuel oil and coal … reached record sums which exceeded even the rate of increase in the prices of petroleum products“, supported the minister.
And yet, Leila Benali confirmed that the measures taken by the government to mitigate the rise in prices on citizens “ may not be sufficient without the participation and mobilization of all members of society“, calling for ” a review of our consumption and production methods to make them more sustainable “.
On this last point, the government official pointed out that the revision by Moroccans of their mode of energy consumption “ has become an urgent necessity to mitigate the impact of the crisis“, noting that the Ministry of Digital Transition and Sustainable Development will launch a broad communication campaign to raise awareness on “ economy in the use of energy“.
This campaign, explained the Minister, aims to ” encourage citizen behavior and raise awareness of the importance of rational use of energy, whether at home, at work or in transport, in order to reduce the energy bill and contribute to the preservation of our environment and to achieving sustainable development“.
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