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The head of government Saadeddine El Othmani announced on Monday that the government cannot «ease the currently adopted restrictive measures because this has a financial and social cost». «The easing would be done based on the improvement of the recorded cases», he said, responding to questions during the monthly session in the House of Representatives.
«Although we are aware that some measures have negative repercussions on citizens, because we feel their suffering, the alternative would be the increase in deaths, which would be more dangerous», he justified. «We have seen this in some cities where indicators have improved thanks to restrictive measures», he said, citing in this regard the example of Tangier.
The head of government said that the «gradual lifting» of these measures will be adopted in some areas.
«Sometimes it takes difficult decisions to avoid the danger while trying to keep the balance between health measures and the protection of citizens as well as the recovery and revival of the economy».
The government «has no visibility» as to the evolution of the situation
The Prime Minister stressed that his cabinet «assumes its responsibility» calling «everyone to shoulder their responsibilities», referring to those who do not respect the decisions of the authorities. «Unfortunately, there are always those who question the very existence of this virus and its dangerousness, those who do not respect the barrier measures, and those who organize weddings or parties ignoring the preventive and necessary measures», he regretted.
«This must stop, because this is what allows the virus to spread even further, returning to normal life can only be achieved if everyone collaborates and commits», he argued.
El Othmani acknowledged, moreover, that «the epidemiological situation in Morocco is worrying and the number of cases increases over the weeks». «Quite frankly, we have no visibility of how this situation will evolve after one or two months. But I can say that the indicators are better than those of several countries», he said.
Referring to the measures taken by his government, El Othmani said that «the year 2020 has seen an economic recession following the application of the state of health emergency», arguing that even Morocco's economic partners are struggling.
He announced that the unemployment rate fell to 12.3% and that the State's resources will drop by 45 billion dirhams by the end of 2020. «The government plans to recover this through the plan of economic recovery», he said.
However, he cites for year 2021 «the maintenance of public investment at the same level to reach 230 billion dirhams, or +26 billion dirhams compared to 2020», the maintenance of salary increases for civil servants in accordance with the agreement of April 25, as well as the continuation of reforms.
The head of government also insisted on the increase in the budget dedicated to education, which will experience, according to him, «an unprecedented increase with +10 billion dirhams to reach 76.5 billion dirhams in 2021».
«Criticism is welcome as long as it is objective. The mobilization must continue because it is our weapon against this pandemic», he concluded.
