Board of House of Representatives Holds Weekly Meeting on April 20th, 2020

The Board of the House of Representatives held its weekly meeting on Monday, April 20^th, 2020. The meeting was chaired by the House's Speaker Habib El Malki and was devoted to discussing the House's agenda in legislation and Government control.

At the beginning of the meeting, the House's Speaker presented a summary of the House's work during the state of public health emergency and the precautionary measures in force. In this respect, he expressed, on behalf of the deputies, his appreciation for the efforts made in accompanying and contributing to control, legislation, and conveying and defending the country's issues and concerns before the concerned ministries. Also, the Board reaffirmed that the House will pursue its work with the pace required by the current situation, and will utilize all the available assets to prioritize the concerns of citizens in thought and practice.

Also, the Board reviewed the fruitful discussions that marked the meetings of standing committees regarding central themes that are followed by the public opinion through commentary and suggestions. The Board also confirmed the establishment of a communicative approach that consolidates closeness and openness, through launching a new platform on the House's official portal. The platform will be solely dedicated to receiving the citizens' views, suggestions, and recommendations, which will be welcomed and appreciated by the different political components of the House.

About the Royal initiative to establish an operational framework to assist African countries in the different stages of managing the Coronavirus pandemic, the House's Speaker and Board commended the cooperative aspect of this pioneering initiative, which confirms, in a difficult phase marked by unilateral crisis management and absence of cooperation and coordination, the nobility of sentiments based on solidarity and collaboration between the brotherly African peoples.

As a show of the House's engagement and contribution to this humanitarian initiative, the House's Speaker Habib El Malki corresponded with some regional organizations, namely the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie, the Pan-African Parliament, and the African Parliamentary Union, and called them to include the issue of African cooperation regarding the pandemic on their agendas.

Concerning the legal texts relative to the healthcare system, which were previously discussed and decided upon by the Board, the participants reiterated their appreciation and praise of the efforts and sacrifices made by all health officials, marked by a spirit of citizenship and patriotism. The participants also affirmed the House's keenness to focus on developing the legal framework regulating the healthcare system, to provide our country with a legal framework that meets the aspirations of Moroccans. In the same respect, the Board has decided to establish a thematic working group for this purpose.

As regards the works and meetings of standing committees, the Board discussed the possibility of expanding the base of remote participation of the members of standing committees. In this context, the House's Speaker stressed on providing all technical assets to achieve that. Also, the Board has decided to correspond with the chairpersons of standing committees to take the necessary measures relative to holding their meetings and managing the time allotted to that.

As for Government control, the Board has decided to include the economic and financial situation as the theme of the plenary session that will be held on Monday, April 27^th, with the participation of the Minister of Economy, Finance, and Administration Reform. The session will follow the format of questions followed by discussion.

Concerning the agenda of plenary sessions, the Board has decided to convene a plenary session on Tuesday, April 21^st. The session will be devoted to examining and voting on the Government bill enacting special measures for employers registered with the National Social Security Fund.