The increase in the price of butane gas “is not on the government’s agenda”, said Monday in Rabat, the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Economy and Finance, in charge of the Budget, Fouzi Lekjaa.
In response to an oral question on “the impact of the increase in the price of gas in Morocco”, posed by the socialist group – opposition Ittihadi, in the House of Representatives, Mr. Lekjaa indicated that the government annually devotes more than 15 billion dirhams (MMDH) to subsidize the consumption of butane gas, “support intended in principle for the most deprived categories, who need it the most”. The minister further noted that “the most vulnerable categories, i.e. 20% of the poorest population, only benefit from 14% of this support, while the most affluent categories, i.e. the 20% poorest rich, benefit to the tune of 27%, or double what the poorest categories receive.
In this context, he stressed that “the real problem of support for butane gas, as for other subsidized products, lies in the absence of targeting of beneficiaries”, adding that “the government and the different components of Parliament are called upon to find the most effective mechanisms to ensure that this support reaches the deprived categories for whom it was established.
Thus, Mr. Lekjaa noted that direct support, through targeted monetary transfers to vulnerable categories, is “the most appropriate solution, because these categories deserve this assistance, just as they must benefit from the budgetary margins that the government can generate by optimizing this system.
With MAP
Swiss
