Here are the main headlines developed by the national press for this Monday, October 28, 2024
The morning
Rabat and Paris determined to chart the course for a renewed partnership open to the future
At the invitation of HM King Mohammed VI, the President of the French Republic and Mrs. Brigitte Macron are making an official visit to Morocco from Monday October 28 to Wednesday October 30. This state visit is part of the ambition to rebuild the exceptional partnership between Rabat and Paris. Indeed, France and Morocco maintain close diplomatic relations. But despite their density, relations between the two countries needed new impetus to reinvigorate themselves in a constantly changing global geopolitical context. From the first half of 2024, the beginnings of a renovated partnership are emerging. This is how France wanted to demonstrate its constant attachment to national security issues for the Kingdom. To better clarify this position, the French President sent a message to the Sovereign on July 30, 2024 where he affirmed that he “considers that the present and future of the Sahara fall within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty”.
Guelmim-Oued Noun aura his Schéma régional du littoral
Morocco is initiating the process of developing regional coastal plans. Guelmim-Oued Noun will soon be equipped with its Scheme. The latter will set the fundamental guidelines for the development, protection and development of the coastline, with regard to the general purpose of the different zones and in particular the zones assigned or reserved for the port, for industrial fishing, for crops marine and leisure activities. The document will also define the measures to protect the ecosystems of the marine and terrestrial environment and will determine the vocations of the different sectors of the maritime space and the accounting principles applicable to the corresponding uses.
Social protection: $60 million from the World Bank to strengthen targeting in Morocco
The World Bank is set to approve additional financing of $60 million for the social protection identification and targeting project in Morocco. This major project aims to extend the coverage of the civil and social digital identifier via the National Population Register for Moroccan citizens and foreign residents, while consolidating inclusion in rural areas for better targeting of social programs through the Unified Social Register.
Eco inspirations
Bank liquidity deficit down slightly
The average bank liquidity deficit narrowed by 1.6% to reach 155.4 billion dirhams (billion dirhams) between October 17 and 23, according to BKGR. Bank Al-Maghrib increased its 7-day advances by 3.8 billion dirhams, bringing their total to 62 billion. At the same time, Treasury investments fell, with a maximum outstanding amount of 19.8 billion dirhams compared to 27.05 billion previously. In this context, the weighted average rate is 2.75%, while the MONIA rose to 2.70%. BAM plans to adjust its interventions, increasing its advances to 62.6 billion next week.
Wooden checks and “drafts”: SMEs crushed, BAM is worried
Despite tough regulations and the 2.5% decline in payment incidents recorded in 2023, bad checks (editor’s note: bounced) continue to wreak havoc, notes Bank Al-Maghrib in the report on financial infrastructures published recently . The half-million (511,420, precisely) “problem” checks represented 34.6 billion dirhams. This is 2 billion more than the previous year. And this is the most worrying for small businesses, because it mainly reflects a deterioration in payment times. This figure does not provide exhaustive information on the extent of the phenomenon because banks do not systematically report all incidents.
L’Opinion
After partial boycott of hearings, lawyers announce total freeze
After several months of protests and partial strikes, the black dresses are stepping up to announce a general boycott of the hearings. The Moroccan Bar Association (ABAM) announced that there will be no backpedaling as long as the Ministry of Justice does not respond to their grievances, particularly on the aspect of criminal procedure. This escalation risks delivering a massive blow to the functioning of Moroccan courts, already paralyzed by court clerks’ strikes. For his part, the responsible minister says he is open to dialogue, but is keen to preserve the current version of the reform, which, according to him, was developed in a collegial manner.
CAM: 12 billion dhs to support the agricultural season
Amid persistent drought and rising input costs, the Ministry of Agriculture is launching the 2024-2025 agricultural season with a series of measures to support farmers. In order to ensure the success of the 2024-2025 agricultural campaign, the Crédit Agricole du Maroc Group (CAM) is deploying a fund of 12 billion dirhams to support farmers in financing their activities, according to a press release from the Ministry of Agriculture. Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests. This financial support is part of the national “Generation Green 2020-2030” strategy. It aims to respond to the current challenges of agricultural production in Morocco.
Al-Ahdath al-Maghribia
Bill in favor of retirees
With the aim of achieving a balance of purchasing power between retirees and active workers, the Popular Movement group in the House of Representatives presented a bill aimed at modifying the civil pension system, in order to allow retirees to benefit from general increases applied to the salaries of active employees. In this amendment, the MP group requested the addition of a provision to Article 44, which allows civil servants and agents who receive pensions under this law to benefit from any salary increase decided in favor of civil servants of the public sector. The group also stressed the need to do justice to the efforts and sacrifices of this category of retirees in the sectors and public administrations in which they worked.
Al Alam
Consulate general and branch of the French Institute in Laâyoune in sight
The Geopolitical Horizons Institute, an independent center of expertise specializing in the geopolitical analysis of the Maghreb, Sahel and Atlantic Africa, revealed that France will soon open a consulate general and a branch of the French Institute in the capital of the southern provinces of the Kingdom, which constitutes the first European diplomatic representation in the region. This historic decision comes three months after Paris’ recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara to concretize the French orientation, writes the Institute on its official website, citing a source at the Elysée. The same source expects this initiative to be announced in the French president’s speech to parliament on Tuesday.
Assahra al-Maghribia
El Bouari launches direct seeding operation in El Hajeb
The Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Ahmed El Bouari, gave the kick-off on Saturday from the commune of Aït Naanmane, in the province of El Hajeb of the direct seeding operation at the national level. This initiative, which takes place on the sidelines of the launch from the Saïss plain of the 2024-2025 agricultural campaign, aims to promote more sustainable and productive agriculture in the Fez-Meknes region and beyond, relying on sowing direct. The Minister of Agriculture, on this occasion, highlighted the importance of the national direct seeding program, which aims to cover an area of 260,000 hectares for the current agricultural campaign, with an ambitious objective of reaching one million hectares by 2030.
