During a meeting of the Committee on Education, Culture and Communication held this Tuesday at the House of Representatives, Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid, Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, seized the opportunity to take stock of the end of press support granted to media companies during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic.
On this occasion, Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid declared: “ Today, we are experiencing a real communication battle at the international level », considering that the current situation of the Moroccan press is “ completely normal » and that there is a strategic structure, including a press that supports the country’s achievements.
In this regard, the minister added that “ the debate around the Family Code revealed that we live in a democratic atmosphere where, of course, the press practices agitation ».
Bensaid noted that “ the government does not link its support to criticism of the executive by the newspapers ”, specifying that “tAll the governments of the world support the press and all the presses criticize these governments; However, the debate should not be neglected when it comes to insults ».
The government official mentioned that the exceptional support for the press, which will end next March, was established in a particular context linked to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The State then decided to cover salaries and allocated, in 2021, 161 million dirhams to this operation, also including income tax and social security contributions.
This amount then increased to reach 167 million dirhams in 2022, then 314 million dirhams in 2023, and finally 325 million dirhams in 2024. The Minister of Culture, Youth and Communication insisted on the fact that “ the current government has continued with the same logic of support as that put in place by the previous government, because we understood that media companies need time to recover », specifying that “ in this situation, support could return to its normal level, i.e. the pre-pandemic level”.
Thus, he reiterated that the flat-rate support for the press and publishing sector, revealing that around 142 companies benefited from it in 2020, for an amount of 5 million dirhams. This amount reached 4.5 million dirhams in 2021, then 11 million dirhams in 2022, covering around 28 million dirhams in 2023, and 35 million dirhams last year (2024).
-He also mentioned exceptional support granted to newspapers affiliated with political parties, totaling 1.4 million dirhams, in addition to covering printing and distribution costs which cost 15 million dirhams in 2020. dirhams for printing and 25 million dirhams for distribution.
The Minister of Culture, Youth and Communication added: “ In 2021, the same costs were covered for printing, and 35 million dirhams were allocated for distribution. In 2022, this reached 15 million dirhams for printing and 30 million dirhams for distribution, then in 2023, 9 million dirhams were allocated to printing and 30 million dirhams for distribution. ».
Concerning the year 2024, Bensaid specified: “ In 2024, around 9 million dirhams were allocated to printing, without distribution benefiting from this aid, after noting that large banks were taking a stake in certain newspapers. The idea was to create a business model for companies to manage distribution in a normal way, but there are issues to be resolved and we are continuing discussions on this. ».
He explained that the current support will end in February, to make way for the new decree, adding that the main objective of this support is to strengthen the stability of the media sector and help it get back on its feet and continue its vital role in society, with a focus on supporting journalists, seen as the essential part of media work, as well as encouraging media companies to invest locally and internationally.
Furthermore, Bensaid insisted on the fact that access to support depends on compliance with the collective agreement, which sets the minimum salary in the press sector at 5,800 dirhams, stressing that “ it is time to review the salaries of journalists, we are talking about a particular profession having a crucial role in strengthening democracy ».
