King Mohammed VI Announces Development Commission
PERSISMA, Rabat – Morocco’s development plans were among the core issues highlighted in King Mohammed VI’s Throne Day speech. The annual speech aired on the evening of July 29.
The King first focused on Morocco’s achievements over the past year. He affirmed that Morocco “made a quantum leap in infrastructure development, whether it is highway construction, the high-speed railway, major ports, renewable energy facilities, or urban development and revamping.”
The King also highlighted Morocco’s advances in consolidating rights and freedoms, stressing its importance “for a strong and healthy anchoring of democratic practice.”
Nevertheless, the King pointed out that infrastructure and institutional reforms, important as they are, are not enough. Therefore, the King attached “particular importance to human development programs, social policies, and the need to respond to Moroccans’ pressing concerns.”
The speech echoed a previous call in October 2017 when the King gave the opening speech of the autumn parliamentary session. He called for the adoption of a new model of development, “balanced and equitable, guaranteeing the dignity of all, generator of income and employment.”
This evening, he once again called for the re-evaluation and updating of the model. He said that it has been unable to meet the growing needs of citizens, and emphasized the need to reduce social inequalities.
Special development model commission
King Mohammed further expressed reservations about the creation of “ad-hoc” non-governmental commissions. He explained that “for some, this is the surest way to evade problems and walk away from them.”
However, the King has created some commissions to which he entrusted the examination of issues such as regionalization, the Constitution, and the Family Code.
Similarly, He announced the decision to set up a special commission in charge of the development model. The commission will be established at the beginning of the next school year.
The commission will be neither a second government nor a parallel official institution. It is an advisory body with a specific time-bound mission.
It is expected to improve sectors such as education, health, agriculture, investment, and the tax system.
The king expects the commission to fulfill its mandate impartially and objectively by providing an exact statement of the state of affairs, “as painful as it may be.” The commission will also be expected to deliver bold and insightful solutions.
Morocco will enter “a new phase, whose distinguishing features will be responsibility and the pursuit of a comprehensive take-off,” said the King.
