The Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills, Younes Sekkouri, indicated on Sunday in Rabat that it was agreed to create a social watch committee responsible for presenting an integrated vision concerning improving the purchasing power of the Moroccan working class, in view of the drafting of the 2024 finance law.
During his speech on the occasion of May 1, 2023, the Minister stressed that the agreement concerning the formation of this committee, made up of representatives of the government and the social partners, reflects the conviction of the government and the social partners to pursue the action to find innovative solutions to all the social issues put on the table for dialogue.
Sekkouri also indicated that the government has taken care to support and preserve the purchasing power of citizens through exceptional mobilization despite this difficult situation that the whole world is going through, marked by inflation and rising prices. prevailing in all countries due to issues of a geostrategic nature.
The government has injected five billion dirhams into the National Electricity and Drinking Water Office to maintain the price of electricity in Morocco at their current levels, while its price has been multiplied by three to ten times in several countries, including some in our neighbourhood, he pointed out.
The minister noted that the state budget bears about 75 dirhams out of every 100 dirhams, and 125 dirhams out of every 200 dirhams paid by the citizen in the water and electricity bill, noting that these amounts could be spent otherwise. or directed towards other priorities, but the government has made a point of preserving citizens’ purchasing power as much as possible despite the difficulties.
The minister also pointed out in this regard that the government has subsidized butane gas with more than 22 billion dirhams, and that the state contributes with more than 90 dirhams in each canister of butane gas acquired by the citizen, in addition to the support provided by the government to maintain the prices of certain basic products (4.8 billion dirhams for sugar, and 10.5 billion dirhams for wheat).
A financial package of 5 billion dirhams has been allocated as exceptional support granted to road transport professionals to mitigate the effects of the rise in hydrocarbon prices on the domestic market due to the surge in international prices, he pointed out.
With regard to consumer protection and the fight against market manipulation, the Minister affirmed that the Central Ministerial Commission was keen to follow very closely the evolution of prices through intensive campaigns at the level of the various markets of the Kingdom. , in addition to the interventions of the local commissions for control and monitoring of the market situation, noting that between January and December 2022, more than 300,000 points of sale were checked, more than 1,100 tonnes of damaged products were seized, and more than 12,400 offenses were recorded.