Here are the main headlines developed by the national press for this Wednesday, June 19, 2024
The Economist
• The second and final tranche of the national irrigation water saving program, to be deployed over 25,000 ha in Loukkos and Doukkala-Abda, is coming to an end. According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), which provides financing, 23,000 ha representing 81% of the program are already covered on the objective initially set, during the launch at the beginning of August 2017. This leaves 2,000 ha of agricultural land to be reconverted. by the end of the current year, new deadline for extending the program. This after the long shutdown induced by the recurring droughts which have affected the Kingdom in recent years, drying up the hydraulic basins in general and the Massira dam in particular.
• On the questioning of the EEP sector in terms of governance, Abdellatif Zaghnoun is categorical. The CEO of the National Agency for the Strategic Management of State Participations (ANGSPE) has a fundamental role to play in improving governance within public establishments and enterprises (EEP) within its scope. The law creating the Agency gave it the responsibility of representing the State shareholder in shareholder meetings, deliberative bodies and specialized committees of the EEPs within its scope. It also ensures the establishment of good governance practices, the coordination of the position of administrators representing the State and the monitoring of the implementation of decisions and recommendations of the deliberative bodies of the EEP concerned. As a reminder, the 7th strategic orientation, approved by the Council of Ministers, concerns the necessary exemplary nature that the EEP sector must demonstrate in terms of governance and performance.
• The summer season is upon us and preparations for vacation departures are being organized. The Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development chose this context to present the results of the report on monitoring the quality of bathing water and beach sand in Morocco. What attracts attention in this report is elsewhere: 49 seaside resorts are declared non-compliant for swimming. They are spread over 22 beaches located in 5 regions, namely Tangier-Tétouan-Al Hoceima, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, Casablanca-Settat, Souss-Massa and Dakhla-Oued Eddahab. The main causes of degradation are generally due to the influence of wastewater discharges and pollution inputs by watercourses. It must be said that some beaches are crowded with summer visitors. Several of them lack basic infrastructure, toilets, waste containers, etc. The insufficiency of sanitary and sanitation equipment at certain beaches calls out to elected officials and public authorities.
Al Akhbar
• The Ministry of the Interior aims to examine the investment documents of municipal councils, relating to projects planned for years but which have not been implemented. According to daily sources, these inspections mainly focus on infrastructure and opening-up projects in isolated regions, suffering from a shortage of basic services and social programs, including school transport and road connectivity projects, including the completion rate only reaches 40%. In the same vein, the reasons given for this delay in execution are the inability to raise the necessary funds, poor management and lack of experience in the programming and implementation of projects, which suggests the presence of manipulations in the funds allocated to these projects. Reports will be produced on these projects in difficulty and the reasons for the delay in their implementation in order to identify responsibilities and take the necessary measures, according to the same source.
Eco inspirations
• The next Quarterly Council of Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM), scheduled for June 25, 2024, attracts the attention of economists, investors and financial institutions. This meeting is particularly anticipated, because it comes in a context where the main international central banks, such as the European Central Bank (ECB), are beginning a new cycle of monetary easing. Indeed, during its last meeting, the ECB decided to lower its key rates by 25 basis points (bps), signaling a global trend towards a more accommodating monetary policy. Despite the favorable signs for a more Dovish monetary policy, BAM could once again opt for the status quo. The Central Bank is expected to keep the required reserve rate unchanged at 0%, thereby aligning its decision with market expectations.
• The national fiscal situation offers an optimistic outlook for economic stability in the months to come. This is evidenced by the public finance figures, finalized at the end of May 2024, which reveal a marked improvement in the situation compared to the previous year. According to the most recent data from the General Treasury of the Kingdom (TGR), the Treasury budget deficit contracted significantly, reaching 11.18 billion dirhams (billion dirhams) at the end of last May, compared to 20. 40 billion dirhams in the same period in 2023. This reduction in the deficit is attributable to several factors, including an increase in revenue and more effective management of expenditure. The Special Treasury Accounts (CST) and the Autonomously Managed State Services (SEGMA) played a crucial role in this improvement. The positive balance of MAD 12.4 billion generated by these entities largely contributed to the reduction of the deficit. The revenues of the CSTs reached 71.1 billion dirhams, while their expenses amounted to 59.4 billion dirhams, generating a balance of 11.7 billion dirhams.
Al Ahdat Al Maghribia
• Water demand in Morocco will experience a considerable increase reaching 104 million cubic meters per year, in the sectors of tourism, industry and real estate projects. According to a recent study carried out in the Bouregreg and Chaouia basins, as part of the master plan for the integrated development of water resources by 2050, the demand for water in the sectors of tourism, industry and real estate projects will experience an increase of up to 104 million cubic meters per year, which requires the implementation of structuring projects to meet this demand, favoring seawater desalination and wastewater treatment techniques. At the industrial level, the demand for water will experience a considerable increase, reaching in 2050 a total of 208.2 million cubic meters, while the real estate sector will experience, for its part, an increase in its demand for water of the order of 19 million cubic meters in 2050.
