Address of the Speaker of the House of Representatives on Closure of Second Session of Second Legislative Year of 11th Legislative Term
Distinguished Minister,
Honorable Representatives,
Ladies and gentlemen,
In accordance with the provisions of the Kingdom's Constitution and the House's Rules of Procedure, we conclude today the proceedings of the Second Legislative Session of the Second Legislative Year under the 11th Legislative Term at the level of plenary sittings, after around one hundred days of work during which we have worked to ensure that our deliberations, sittings, and meetings at all levels are productive and fruitful.
The closing of this Session coincides with the Moroccan people's commemoration of Throne Day, which this year marks the 24th anniversary of the accession of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God glorify him, to the Throne of His Glorious Ancestors. I take this precious national occasion to extend to His Majesty the King, on behalf of all the components of the House, the expressions of our fidelity and loyalty, imploring the Almighty to protect him and perpetuate upon His Majesty the blessings of health and well-being, and to guard His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Hassan and all the members of the noble Royal Family.
I would also like to take this opportunity to express our pride and satisfaction at the development and growth achieved by the Kingdom of Morocco under the wise leadership of His Majesty the King, as well as the Kingdom's progress towards consecrating its regional, continental, and international positioning as a credible and reliable partner that contributes to building peace and achieving development, facilitates dialogue between states, civilizations, and cultures, and defends justice and rights.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Institutional tradition dictates that we devote such sittings to the presentation of an analytical inventory of the record of our work. In this regard, the headlines of this record lie in our diligence and our concern, within the bodies of the House and its Opposition and Majority components, to exercise our constitutional prerogatives, our missions, and our functions, firstly, in strict compliance with the provisions of the Constitution and the House's Rules of Procedure; Secondly, in full respect of constitutional and institutional deadlines while performing our missions; and thirdly, in keenness to making the content of our proceedings more interactive with the national and international contexts and with the expectations of Moroccan society, in a practical incarnation of a Parliament that interacts with aspirations and events, and within which the happenings and questions of society find their natural echo.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is the question of making our parliamentary practice reach a high degree of maturity, density, fluidity, quality, and productivity, making it today a parliamentary practice that has all the foundations of singularity in full conformity with the criteria of 21st-century parliamentary democracy as elaborated and conceived by the Inter-Parliamentary Union in several of its reference frameworks and documents.
This singularity and unwavering distinction are confirmed by the ability of our parliamentary institutional model to combine, at the same time, traditional and authentic parliamentary action and our institutional traditions, on the one hand, and the requirements of the new democracy as imposed by the new context, as well as the new societal demands, the forms of awareness correlative to these, and the patterns of thought resulting notably from the enormous evolution of technology, artificial intelligence, and communication, on the other.
The reason for pride and motivation in preserving our national institutional model is the fact that it is consolidating, strengthening, thriving, and striving in a regional and international context where some democracies are growing weary while many countries are experiencing model dilemmas. While we do not claim perfection in what we have so far achieved, our ascent as a new and innovative democratic force remains an established truth that we have been able to achieve thanks to accumulated reforms, and mainly thanks to the pioneering role of our constitutional, democratic, and social Monarchy, which represents the driving force behind institutional and social cohesion, and the center of consensus culture.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Allow me to review with you a few aspects of the singularity of the national institutional model, as embodied in the record of the Second Session of the Second Legislative Year, a record to which all the political components of the House, both of the Opposition or Majority, and its bodies have contributed, in cooperation and complementarity with the other branches and constitutional institutions. The common thread between all this has been the interaction with the national context and the concern that our work should respond to the expectations and major questions posed in society through the legislative regulation of reforms, the control of the Government's action, and the evaluation of public policies, focusing on the priorities of the national agenda.
With regard to legislation, and in line with the social context, the House of Representatives has adopted eight foundational Government bills which provide a framework for medical coverage and the governance of the sector, and equip it with the institutions and human resources needed for its development, the improvement of its services, and the institutionalization of scientific research in the health sector.
These texts aim to consolidate the foundations of the social State, facilitate access to health services, and democratize it through the territorial establishment of institutions and through the digitalization and creation of administrative and technical levers likely to drive the sector forward, guarantee its sustainability, and modernize it. They also aim, most importantly, to increase the sector's attractiveness and encourage and develop its human resources by enshrining the notion of the health profession and asserting its particularity and nobility.
The adoption of these texts is part of the ongoing construction of the social State, which has been accelerating and expanding for over twenty years, in order to implement the social rights, mutual aid, and solidarity guaranteed by the Kingdom's Constitution and international conventions, and following the vision of His Majesty the King of social protection.
By adopting these texts, our country is about to crown a journey of accumulated social reforms and build a new health system whose pillar is the public service, and the generalization, improvement, and consecration of pharmaceutical and health sovereignty in general as part of national sovereignty in its various dimensions, drawing lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic.
On the other hand, the adoption by the House of a number of Government bills ratifying bilateral and multilateral international instruments is an important part of the legislative record of the April 2023 Session. These instruments reflect the Kingdom's position at the international, continental, and regional levels, and its positioning as a committed and sincere international partner, open to diversified partnerships and active within international organizations.
In addition to these texts, we have also adopted other constitutive texts and others amending existing laws covering the various economic, social, and cultural aspects of life. The total number of texts adopted by the House during this Session reached 34. Adoption is certainly not an end in itself, but we should, as part of our control prerogatives, monitor the implementation of these laws, identify their impact, and assess their influence on society.
We should also, within the framework of institutional consensus and clarity, focus on facilitating the fluidity of deciding on the outcome of parliamentary bills put forward by Representatives as part of their legislative initiatives, whose importance and role in enriching national legislation I am still convinced of, over and above the fact that this practice is part of the exercise of a constitutional prerogative entrusted to parliamentarians.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
When it comes to controlling Government action, any neutral observer can only applaud the House's performance and its keenness to exploit the various aspects of control, thus reflecting your interaction as members of the House with the issues of society and the concerns of the people.
This is why we have dedicated the three sittings during which the Head of Government answers questions from the House members, following the provisions of Article 100 of the Constitution, to public policies of major topicality and strategic nature, such as food sovereignty, the importance of which you mentioned in an international context marked by competition to ensure food security and supplies in the global market, and higher education and the importance of investing in it and preparing our country for a future in which knowledge, skills, and human awareness will be decisive factors in progress and development. In the same framework, we devoted the last of these sittings to the means of accelerating and improving the empowerment of women in Morocco, a theme that enjoys great interest from Moroccan society and the high solicitude of His Majesty the King.
Health issues, the performance of the public health service, social support programs, the sustainability aspect of development, the fight against climate imbalances, education at all levels, and the roles of civil society in development are all themes that attracted the attention of the House members during the weekly sittings for oral questions addressed to the Government members. These sittings, which totaled ten, saw water issues, the situation of national agriculture in light of the drought, and the repercussions of climate imbalances on the water situation and national agriculture occupy an important space in the dialogue between the legislative and executive branches. In figures, we programmed and discussed, during these sittings, 340 questions of the 855 accumulated, meaning a percentage of approximately 40%.
On the other hand, Representatives continued to make good use of written questions as a mechanism for questioning Government members on regional and local issues no less important than sectoral policy ones, such as construction and urbanization, waste management, social services, and infrastructure.
In this context, we have inventoried some 2,700 written questions that the House members have addressed to the Government, of which 1,331 have been answered, representing an institutional interaction percentage of 50%.
In the same vein, the Standing Committees continued their control action by discussing presentations and hearing clarifications from the Government members and Heads of public institutions on several topical questions at the request of members of the Parliamentary Groups and Caucus, who submitted a total of 63 requests to examine 51 themes that were all reviewed by the Standing Committees. These discussions provided an opportunity for constructive and in-depth dialogue, which will undoubtedly contribute to improving public policies.
In the same context of control, and based on the efficiency and productivity of the Exploratory Missions, the House authorized the creation of two Exploratory Missions during this Session. In the same context, four exploratory missions have completed their work.
You are all aware of the importance of this control mechanism in collecting data and diagnosing weaknesses and strengths in the activities or sectors it covers. It is a major aspect of control action, and we must strive to make it efficient, accelerate it, guarantee its fluidity, and adhere to its aims and limits.
This growing trend towards control work by the Standing Committees reflects the concern of the House members to keep abreast of economic, social, and cultural conditions and to place the concerns of the various categories and sectors at the heart of the institutional debate, i.e., in its right framework and location, where solutions must be agreed and outcomes found on the basis of dialogue, balance, and cooperation between the branches.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Less than a week ago, this hemicycle hosted important, distinct, and civic-minded discussions, the value of which you have unanimously recognized, and which embodied the consensus of the components of the House and the Government on the conclusions of two reports that crowned two major public policy evaluation processes in our development context. I am referring here to the discussion of the two reports drawn up by the Thematic Group responsible for evaluating the water policy and the one responsible for evaluating the implementation of the 2018-2021 National Administration Reform Plan.
Whether it is a question of water policy or administrative reform, it is all about the optimal implementation of the provisions of the Constitution, which guarantees the House the competence to evaluate public policies, and the interaction with the national context and with the concerns of public opinion, as well as the aspiration to achieve quality in public policies and public service governance.
It should also be noted that the House is currently conducting the evaluation of the application of Law 103-13 on combating violence against women. It is the first time that the legislative institution has subjected a law in force to evaluation, to determine its impact and effect on eradicating this phenomenon and its serious consequences. To enshrine the governance of our performance, we must make the tradition of evaluating the application of laws a part of our parliamentary practice.
Ladies and gentlemen,
On the front of parliamentary diplomacy and external relations, the House of Representatives has maintained its active and influential presence in multilateral international, continental, and regional parliamentary fora, hence consolidating its proactive and innovative approach to the global parliamentary community's interaction with events, crises, and issues weighing on international relations.
In this respect, I would like to recall the International Parliamentary Conference organized by the Moroccan Parliament, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and religious institutions, under the High Patronage of His Majesty the Commander of the Faithful, may God glorify him, in Marrakesh between June 13 and 15, 2023, on the theme "Interfaith dialogue: Working together for our common future," marked by the high Royal message that His Majesty addressed to the participants. This Royal message will remain a rich historical reference document in terms of diagnosing the position of interfaith dialogue in international relations and between civilizations and peoples, taking into account the messages and wise vision it conveyed and the action mechanisms it proposed to facilitate this dialogue, and to ensure that Parliaments play their roles in warding off the dangers of religious and faith conflicts and hatred.
The high Royal message also inspired the participants in the Conference, who reached a total of over 500 people from different religions, beliefs, schools of thought, and political tendencies, in the active debates that took place during the Conference, and notably in the final declaration (Marrakesh Declaration), which crowned the Conference's proceedings.
In addition, we have continued to ensure that the issues of our African continent remain on the agenda of Moroccan parliamentary diplomacy by advocating African causes at multilateral parliamentary fora and defending justice for Africa, which faces the disastrous effects of climate imbalances and the phenomenon of migration, and aspires to peace and security.
In this connection, I refer to the Conference organized by the House on July 6 and 7, 2023, on African parliamentary cooperation in the context of current challenges, with the participation of the Chairpersons of the Foreign Affairs Committees of African national Parliaments. This Conference provided an opportunity for a peaceful debate that led to agreement on a number of ideas and proposed solutions to certain dilemmas facing the continent, by way of a humble parliamentary contribution that was reflected in an intensive document entitled the "Rabat Declaration" of Foreign Affairs Committees in African Parliaments.
These fora and other parliamentary meetings hosted by our country are yet another international proof of the confidence our country enjoys on the international stage amidst a complex and difficult global context, and in a regional one plagued by conflicts and crises, where few countries are in a position to host so many international, regional, governmental, parliamentary, civil, political, economic, and service conferences, as well as to bring together currents of different tendencies and races under the same roof to discuss issues that weigh on the future of humankind.
This ability reflects our country's regional and international positioning, its credibility, and its sincere commitment to defending security, peace, and coexistence, as well as the trust it enjoys and the recognition of the stability and security that characterize it.
While the occasion does not allow me to enumerate the House's record on the external relations and parliamentary diplomacy front, where we have always kept in mind the Moroccan diplomatic credo as conceived and sponsored by His Majesty, it is worth recalling some of the constants that guide us in the current context:
First of all, we must reiterate our absolute rejection of the defamation, contempt, and gratuitous targeting of our country by certain European institutions, namely the European Parliament, which conceals the anger of a section of the political spectrum of this institution at the successes, positioning, and influence of our country. While we are committed and open to dialogue with the political authorities of this institution, we reaffirm that this must be done with mutual respect, competition, commitment to obligations, and sincerity.
Secondly, it is about emphasizing that our right to diversify our partnerships and secure our national interests and strategic choices is an absolute sovereign right to which we are committed irrespective of any force or machinations, and that the attempt to cover up interference in our internal affairs with blatant slander and fabricated crises, no longer fools rational politicians and members of the international community.
Thirdly, it is a question of a national constant, which can in no way be the subject of debate, namely the national cause and the position on it is the criterion of our international relations, in accordance with the Royal speech in this sense: “The Sahara issue is the lens through which Morocco looks at the world. It is the clear, simple benchmark whereby Morocco measures the sincerity of friendships and the efficiency of partnerships,” end of the Royal citation.
Our territorial integrity has been, and will continue to be, at the forefront of our action at the foreign relations and communications level. We will remain vigilant to defend it and unmask the petty fabricated narratives of adversaries, based on misinformation and distortion of historical facts, having as an example the vision and policies of His Majesty, may God glorify him, and as support His directives, as well as the resistance of the Royal Armed Forces, guarantors of the borders, security and stability of the country. To these forces, led by their Supreme Commander and Chief of General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR), we express our gratitude and recognition, and to our brothers and sisters in our southern provinces, we offer our greetings and appreciation for their fight against the plots of the foes and their willing and enthusiastic involvement in building institutions and affirming cohesion between the components of a single homeland.
Ladies and gentlemen,
One of the most important features of our constitutional and institutional system is involvement and consultation through participatory and citizen democracy, with its various approaches and mechanisms. As a result, we have continued to open up to civil society organizations as they orient citizens' initiatives and organize symposia, thematic meetings, and workshops with the participation of a dozen civil organizations from different regions of the Kingdom.
Our noble objective has been, and will continue to be, to perpetuate dialogue and openness to civil society, to ensure that citizens present their opinions and proposals in the field of legislation, control, elaboration, and evaluation of public policies, and to encourage the drafting and presentation of petitions and motions on legislation, so that participatory democracy is a tributary of representative institutional democracy while taking into account all the limits that must be respected between political and associative actors and between parties and associations.
In this respect, it is worth recalling the colloquium organized by the Petitions Committee at the House on the theme "The pillars of development in mountainous regions," on June 22, 2023, with the participation of several associations working on this subject, including those belonging to the Civil Coalition for Mountains.
You are aware of the importance of developing Morocco's mountains as historical, civilizational, cultural, and environmental reservoirs, as well as their role in ecological balance and development, making them the focus of development and ecological issues.
In parallel with this regular openness to civil society, we ensure that people working in this field have the necessary training and skills, and are familiar with parliamentary action.
In this respect, as part of our international cooperation programs, we have organized two training days for associations within the framework of the Open Government Partnership Initiative (OGP) in application of our commitments in the context of this international initiative of which the House is an active member.
In addition, we have launched a two-year training program for young people from parties represented in the House of Representatives and civil society organizations, designed to bring beneficiaries closer to institutional and parliamentary action, parliamentary procedures, parliamentary systems, and citizen participation. These workshops will help enshrine a culture of participation and trust in institutions, and that young people will experience parliamentary action from the inside.
We expect all these initiatives to consolidate participatory democracy in terms of public consultation, petitions, and motions on legislation, out of the conviction of its role in promoting institutional democracy.
To facilitate this, as part of our international cooperation programs, we are developing an electronic platform for submitting petitions and motions on legislation to the House of Representatives by digital means, which will be launched at the beginning of the next legislative year in the hope of helping facilitate this noble citizen practice.
Ladies and gentlemen,
These have been the headlines of our performance during this Session, the record of which we must capitalize and build on to consolidate the maturity of our democracy and make it more profitable in order to enshrine the reforms our country has undertaken under the leadership of His Majesty. We must always refer to the regional and international contexts in which international relations are marked by unprecedented fragmentation, axis politics, and competition to secure national interests in a context of tension, scarcity, and caution.
Thank you for your attention. I now give the floor to the Secretary of the House to read the Message of Loyalty to His Majesty, may God glorify him.