Chairperson of the Finance and Economic Development Committee at the House of Representatives Receives Delegation of International Monetary Fund
Chairperson of the Finance and Economic Development Committee of the House of Representatives, Rep. Mohamed Chaouki received, on Thursday, November 3, 2022 at the House of Representatives, an IMF delegation headed by Chief of Mission Roberto Cardarelli, as part of his mission in the series of annual consultations – 4th Trimester - in order to assess the financial, economic, and social situation of Morocco in the context of the preparation of a comprehensive report on the visit.
The IMF mission delegation also includes Mr. Balima Weneam Hippolyte in charge of the public finance sector, Mr. Bizimana Olivier in charge of the monetary and financial sector, David Bartolini in charge of public finance, Noureddine Abidi, in charge of the external sector, and Perez-Saiz Hector, in in charge of debt and the external sector.
During this meeting, Rep. Mohamed Chaouki presented an overview of the work of the Finance and Economic Development Committee during the recent period, as he reviewed before the members of the delegation the most prominent Government bill examined by the Committee during the last and current legislative year, foremost of which is the Law on Competition and Freedom of Prices, in addition to the new Investment Charter, adding that "the Committee renewed its blood significantly during the current legislative term, as out of 44 members, only nine members remained from the previous term."
Rep. Chaouki’s intervention included a summary of the reforms led by the Government in various areas, whether in terms of the distribution of investments through regions and sectors, or in relation to social reforms, where the speaker stressed that "there is a predominant optimism for the success of these reforms, despite the complicated international situation after the COVID crisis."
According to its Chairperson, the Committee also looks forward to the approval of the 2023 Finance Bill, which includes several social and tax reforms. In this respect, he noted that "the economic conditions the world is experiencing pose several challenges to accelerating the pace of reforms, as the Investment Charter represents an ambitious project to achieve a peculiar recovery in the financing aspect of capital markets, incentives and grants based on the investment scoring system. Rep. Chaouki noted this option will contribute to encouraging investment and creating the required dynamism, as some regions will receive greater support to raise their attractiveness in terms of investment, and other sectors will benefit more according to the perceptions held by the public actor regarding both exports and the provision of jobs."
Regarding social reforms, Rap. Chaouki confirmed that "the government has already funded some of the affected materials and sectors, such as tourism and agriculture, although the matter has contributed to deepening the debt to 5%. However, according to the Chairperson of the Finance Committee, "this fact will not dissuade the Government from continuing the reforms to maintain the macro-economic balances."
The meeting was also an opportunity to present a series of questions by the IMF delegation, which revolved around the details of the implementation of the new Investment Charter and the extent of the government's intervention in it regionally. In response to these questions, Rep. Chaouki noted that "the support, which can reach up to 30%, will be in accordance with a grading scale that changes according to the authority and the project, as the State commits itself in three areas related to facilitating access to finance and real estate, and then providing energy at the lowest prices."
Regarding a question from the IMF delegation on public investments, Rep. Chaouki explained that "public investments currently account for two thirds of the volume of investments, as opposed to one third in favor of the private sector, and that the current trend is aimed at reversing the mechanism so that private investment will take two thirds."
The delegation's inquiries raised points about the social protection project, the contents of which were explained by Rep. Chaouki. In this context, he noted that the project intends that "about one third of the population will benefit from it, through the passage of the RAMED medical assistance system to the compulsory health insurance system".
On the subject of the reform of the contracting system, the Chairperson of the Finance and Economic Development Committee revealed that "reform is coming, imposed by the change that society has experienced with regard to increasing life expectancy, which requires some measures to restore the balance of the funds in the foreseeable future."
In response to the delegation's questions, Rep. Chaouki explained that all the reforms that the Government will accept are priority, whether in the case of compensation, retirement, dates of tax payments, the informal sector or the value added tax, and that "some of these reforms invoke certain social and political conditions, such as cancelling subsidies on gas bottles."