The intervention of the head of government, Aziz Akhannouch, at the request of the Institution of the Mediator of the Kingdom, made it possible to unblock the situation of the victims of the program “ Rapids “. An agreement was signed to finance 1,700 projects on the waiting list, while starting negotiations with banking institutions to finance other files.
In its 2023 report submitted to the King and published in the Official Bulletin (issue of December 27, 2024), the Mediator Institution attributes the notable increase in grievances in the tourism, crafts and social economy sectors and solidarity (from 11 complaints in 2022 to 427 in 2023) to the “ Rapids “. She also revealed the government’s position and its proposal to resolve this issue.
According to the report, the head of government specified, in response to the Institution, that after transmission of the proposal to the Ministry of Tourism, Crafts, Social and Solidarity Economy, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Moroccan Tourist Engineering Company and two banking establishments. This agreement aims to support the financing of 1,700 project leaders registered on the waiting list and having successfully completed all stages of the program.
Furthermore, the government indicated that negotiations are underway with other banking institutions to finance more projects. The Ministry of the Interior was also asked to encourage walis and governors to direct young entrepreneurs, having completed their training and having financeable projects, towards other available financing programs.
The Ombudsman Institution stressed that, even if the program has achieved its initial objective in terms of number of beneficiaries, this should not prevent the search for innovative solutions to include complete projects whose leaders have demonstrated commitment seriously throughout the stages of the program.
-The Kingdom’s Mediator also recognized the administration’s arguments, namely the exhaustion of allocated budgets and the achievement of quantified objectives. However, it noted certain cases requiring special consideration, in particular because of the social situation of the project leaders and the financial obligations they bear.
Recurring complaints and growing dissatisfaction
In his report, the Ombudsman said he had received numerous complaints from program participants “ Rapids » whose projects were not selected at different stages, whether during administrative, technical or final selection. These complaints often reflect a feeling of injustice, exacerbated by the efforts and costs assumed by the candidates, including expenses linked to rent, taxes, social charges, and even health coverage.
Faced with the increase in these complaints and demonstrations organized by disappointed candidates, the Institution warned of a possible climate of tension which could harm the main objective of the program: to encourage individual initiatives and promote entrepreneurship. among young people.
In response to this situation, the Mediator Institution recommended that the head of government take measures based on the principles of justice and equity, in favor of project leaders likely to be financed after a second reading of the files. She recalled that the ministry in charge of the program “ Rapids » announced, on November 13, 2018, that it had achieved its objective of financing 10,000 projects, while leaving the door open to the possibility of financing 1,200 additional projects before the set deadline.
