Board of House of Representatives Holds Weekly Meeting on Tuesday, June 30th, 2020

The Board of the House of Representatives held its weekly meeting on Tuesday, June 30^th, 2020, under the chairmanship of Speaker of House of Representatives Habib El Malki. The meeting was devoted to control and legislation.

The Speaker of the House and the Board members initiated the meeting by recalling the historic moment that the world is living on the International Day of Parliamentarism. This moment marks journeys of democratic edifice and activism, and reflects peoples’ will to attain freedom, equality, and sustainable development.

The Board also reviewed proudly the significance of the parliamentary institution to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God protect him, who, since his accession to the Throne of his glorious ancestors, gave it an important place in direction and consideration in his speeches, aspiring for the Parliament to rise to the top of the democratic edifice, within the framework of ethical parliamentary practice that reflects the commitment to closeness to the remote Moroccan areas, and continuous interest in the aspirations and concerns of citizens.

This constitutional institution has achieved, affirms His Majesty the King may God protect him in a message addressed to the participants in the international conference celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the establishment of Parliament in Morocco, “positive gains accumulated over more than half a century as our country has succeeded in consolidating the foundations of representative democracy … Throughout its history, the Parliament has been a space for the formation of national political elites and a platform for debate, exchange and divergence of opinions, whether with the Government or between majority and opposition parties.” End of citation of His Majesty the King.

This day was also an opportunity to review the achievements of the House during the period of the pandemic, through its conscious follow-up with the aspirations of citizens, via continuous control of the Government, or through the adoption of texts to provide timely responses to issues dictated by the exceptional circumstances.

The Speaker and the Board of the House seize this opportunity to praise the high spirit of patriotism that all Moroccans have shown, and the spirit of solidarity and unity that marked their attitude and that of all the members of the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, they reviewed the challenges that hinder the advancement and promotion of social sectors and health systems, and the attainment of equality and dignity. This journey requires comprehensive national effort, in which the House of Representatives occupies a central position, given its constitutional instruments of legislation, control, and evaluation of public policies.

The Speaker and all the political components of the Board expressed their pride and consideration of the responsibilities they bear, and the honor they have in serving the legislative institution and the high interests of the country. In this respect, they affirmed their commitment to pursuing their noble mission with all the efforts and self-denial it requires.

With regard to control, the Board established and set the agenda of the weekly oral questions sitting that will be convened on July 6^th, 2020. The Board also reviewed and referred several legal texts to the competent committees. The texts include a Government bill on the statute of the Chambers of Commerce, Industry, and services, which was referred to the Productive Sectors Committee, and a parliamentary bill on the creation of the Food Bank, which was referred to the same Committee. The Board also referred three parliamentary organic bills on regions, prefectures, provinces, and communes to the Internal Affairs, Communes, Housing, and Urban Policy Committee.

Concerning exploratory missions, the Board examined the work of the committees in this respect and made some procedural remarks relating to the provisions regulating this action in the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives. The Board has decided, in view of the exceptional circumstances that hindered the completion of the reports of these missions, to extend the period for submitting the reports until the end of the current session.