The Minister Delegate to the Minister of Economy and Finance, in charge of the Budget, Fouzi Lekjaa, indicated on Friday in Rabat that the budget deficit should decrease to 4% in 2024, to 3.5% in 2025 and to 3% in 2026, according to the three-year budget plan (PBT) for this period.
Lekjaa, who presented the general framework of the finance bill (PLF) for the year 2024 during a joint meeting of the finance committees of the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors, stressed that the control the level of the deficit in line with the trajectory targeted under the PBT to preserve debt sustainability, requires the continuation of reforms and the implementation of measures aimed at mobilizing additional margins both in terms of revenue and expenditure .
The Minister also stressed the need to take the necessary measures both in terms of resources and expenditure in order to control the budget deficit at the level set in the framework of the finance law for the year 2023, i.e. 4.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP), depending on the results obtained at the end of the first half of the current year, the outlook for the evolution of the macroeconomic framework over the rest of the year, as well as the cost of the measures taken to limit the impact of inflationary pressures and drought.
With regard to expenditure, it was executed at the end of 2023, in accordance with the forecasts of the finance law, recording an increase compared to the same period of 2022, the minister said, adding that the budget deficit has increased from 9.6 billion dirhams (MMDH) to reach 27.8 billion dirhams, i.e. nearly 42.3% of the level provided for under the finance law.
And to continue that the current account deficit should not exceed 2.5% of GDP in 2023, thanks to the improvement in import prices, the positive evolution of exports, as well as the continuation of the resumption of tourist activity and the dynamism of transfers by Moroccans residing abroad (MRE).
According to Lekjaa, the level of foreign exchange reserves of Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) should remain at a level equivalent to 6 months of imports of goods and services.
Furthermore, the official noted that the finance law was executed during the first half of the current year, in a context that remains characterized by persistent inflationary pressures and a tightening of monetary policies at the international and national levels.
And to conclude that in this context, the government is continuing its efforts to reconcile, on the one hand, the fight against inflationary pressures through short-term measures in order to control the rise in food prices and honor government commitments, through the implementation of the necessary reforms in the social field, the mobilization of water resources and the stimulation of investments, and on the other hand, the improvement of budgetary margins.