The High Commission for Planning (HCP) announced at a press conference on Thursday that the total budget allocated to date for the census amounts to 1.460 billion dirhams. This amount covers a period of four years, starting in 2022, the year in which preparations for the census, including cartographic work, training, and implementation of the project, were initiated.
Samir Issara, Director of Human Resources and General Affairs at HCP, specified in response to a question from the press that 67% of this budget, or 970 million dirhams, is intended to compensate census participants. The technologies used, including electronic tablets, cost 200 million dirhams, representing 14% of the budget. The remainder, or 280 million dirhams (20% of the budget), was allocated to various services such as vehicle rental, communication, development cards, and insurance.
The Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, issued a circular on July 8, 2024, designating the walis and governors, or their deputies, as spending authorizers for the HCP. The secretaries general of the prefectures or the officials delegated to this task are considered as their deputies for the management of the credits delegated by the HCP within the framework of the census budget.
This circular also provides for the creation of special treasuries dedicated to these expenses at the level of prefectures, provinces, districts and administrative circles. If necessary, civil servants will be appointed as accounting officers to the walis and governors.
In accordance with a decree published in December 2023, the HCP, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior and the General Treasury, is responsible for paying allowances to census participants, the value of these allowances being set according to the tasks assigned.
Reacting to criticism from Aziz Ghali, president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), who was concerned about the involvement of teachers in the census, to the detriment of pupils and students, Ahmed Lahlimi, High Commissioner for Planning, strongly defended this participation. We are proud of the participation of teachers, as they bring unique vision and expertise. “, he said. Lahlimi also stressed that the education system, from which these teachers come, as well as distance learning, represent major assets for the census. “ Teachers know how to communicate and master distance learning ” he added.
