Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance Mohamed Benchaaboun revealed the negative consequences that the Corona pandemic has had on the Moroccan economy, pointing to "the decline in tax and non-tax revenues by about 13.8 billion dirhams (1.38 billion dollars) until last August, compared to the same period of last year 2019".
During a presentation before the Finance Committee of the House of Representatives (the first chamber in Parliament) regarding the forecasts for the year 2021, Minister Benchaaboun indicated, “the possibility of a decline in collection resources between 20 and 25 billion dirhams (2 and 2.5 billion dollars) compared to 2019, which means an increase in debt and more budget deficit," pointing out "the impact of the pandemic on the unemployment rate, as it is expected to rise to 13 percent in 2020 instead of 9.2 percent in 2019, due to a 5 percent decrease in gross domestic product and the loss of nearly 227,000 jobs in the non-agricultural sector, and 78,000 worked in the agricultural sector."
Benchaaboun revealed that the fiscal bill (budget) 2021 will give priority to social sectors, during which the generalization of compulsory health coverage will be programmed over the years 2021 and 2022, at a cost of about 13.829 billion dirhams (1.38 billion dollars), revealing the strengthening of the budgets of the ministries of health and education in 2021 Finance Bill, creating 3,500 additional jobs, including 1,500 for health and 2,000 for the education sector.
Source (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
