FOM Newsletter July 2002
Morocco Week in Review July 6, 2002 

More than 97% of six year old children in Morocco will be schooled next fall, in comparison with 37% between 1997 and 1998, Moroccan minister of education, Abdellah Saaf, said. In a booklet entitled "School Statistics:2001-2002," issued recently by the ministry of education, Saaf says "this is the first time Morocco scores such a figure in the field of 6 year olds' schooling." Schooling generalization saw a significant rise between the 1997-1998 and 2001-2002 periods, since it went up from 37% to 91%, i.e. an annual rise of 13%, the minister says, MAP reported.  Concerning girls schooling, the minister says enrolment rate reached 44% in comparison with 37% in the 1997-1998 period.

Physical punishment remains a common practice in Moroccan schools as 85% of polled pupils said they have been beaten by their teachers, despite the fact that the practice is banned in schools. A survey on "punishment and violence in schools" conducted by a Moroccan NGO with the UNICEF support showed that nine out of 10 teachers do beat their pupils in classrooms.

Out of a sample of 120 pupils, including 64 boys and 56 girls aged between 3 and 15 years, 70% of children have received physical punishment and the rate reaches 82% in state schools. Pupils said causes for receiving a physical punishment are chatting during the class (29%) and failure to do homework (28%). The preferred target of teachers are hands (50%), face and head (10.8%) and feet sole (8.69%).

The Moroccan ministry of economy, finance, privatization and tourism launched Monday its web site www.mfie.gov.ma. The 14 section-site displays information on the ministry's activities and offers several online services such as simulations and downloads of administrative documents.  Internet surfers can find information on Morocco's fiscal system, customs and investment as well as information on the possibility of financing public and private projects. The site provides several services to helpmusers conduct transactions with the Administration of Customs and Direct Taxes (ADII). Mfie.gov.ma also advertises the ministry's tenders and results in real time.

Moroccan-French small business investment projects need support network, state secretary

French state secretary of commerce, SMEs, handicraft and liberal professions, Renaud Dutreil, called here Monday for the set up of a network to support the Moroccan-French SMEs investment projects. Speaking at a meeting with Moroccan and French bankers and entrepreneurs, Dutreil stressed the need to lay a bridge between Moroccan and French SMEs to face up the challenges of year 2010, where borders will be opened and a free mtrade zone set up. The French official voiced will to contribute to the promotion of Moroccan-French cooperation and underscored the necessity of setting up lasting relations between the two countries' executives. French young people of Moroccan origin, who are attached to both France and Morocco, can contribute significantly in tightening the two countries' economic ties, Dutreil said, deploring the red tape which, he said, is a brake to the set up of enterprises. The French official underscored the role the regions play in bringing closer Moroccan and French SMEs. "The French regions, especially those with a strong Moroccan community, can conduct co-development and cooperation economic strategies," he said.  The meeting was organized by the Morocco-France friendship circle, headed by Mehdi Qotbi, with the participation of members of the MEDEF (French employers federation).

Wednesday, July 3, 2002 at 13:00 JST TOKYO -- Japan and Morocco on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in the information technology field, the government said. Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Toranosuke Katayama and Moroccan state secretary in charge of posts and telecommunications Nacer Hajji signed the five-year pact, which was agreed to in May when Katayama visited Morocco. (Kyodo News)

Morocco will implement a gradual liberalization of its domestic oil market over the next six years as part of an agreement with the European Union, a senior government minister said yesterday. General Affairs Minister Ahmed Lahlimi said a cabinet meeting late on Monday lifted the protection imposed in 1997 on refined oil products, including diesel oil. "The move aims at encouraging new investments in the oil distribution sector," he told Reuters. Morocco liberalized in the 1990s imports of refined oil products but imposed heavy customs tariffs to protect main oil refiner Samir, then slated for sale. Sweden-based Saudi Corral Holding AB purchased Samir and its subsidiary Societe Cherifienne des Petroles (SCP) in 1997 for around $500 million. A gradual lifting of these tariffs - 10 per cent per year over six years - was expected to begin this month in accordance with a free-trade zone agreement signed with the E.U. in 1996. "By 2007, Morocco's oil sector will be fully liberalized...This is a state commitment which will be implemented from this month," Lahlimi said. He said the government would encourage imports of gasoline, gas oil and diesel to comply with local and international environmental requirements, including a substantial reduction of sulphur in refined oil products in the coming years. Lahlimi said the government rejected Samir's request for an extension of the state protection for at least three years because Samir "had enough time to upgrade its production tools". "Samir, like any industrial firm, can benefit from the existing investment code to expand its activity and development," the minister added. Samir head Abderrahmane Saaidi said the move would jeopardize the development of his company. "We're very anxious...Samir will face hard times because the government didn't gave us the necessary time to upgrade our refining units," he told Reuters. 

Samir launched in 2000 a $700-million investment plan over five years to modernize production tools and reduce the sulphur in its refined products. A former privatization minister, Saaidi said the dismantlement of tariffs and a change in the price structure imposed by the liberalisation "will dramatically reduce Samir's profit margins". "I don't see how Samir can (financially) survive in an environment marked by unfair competition," he said. He was referring to some local oil distributors, such as Total Maroc, a subsidiary of French major TotalFinaElf, who can import tax-free diesel from neighboring North African country Algeria and from Libya. Samir shares on the Casablanca bourse fell on the news, shedding 5.59 per cent to 355 dirhams, their lowest this year. "The market was surprised by the government's decision...It reacted negatively to the news...Many investors have started to sell the stock because of the firm's unclear growth prospects," a financial analyst said. Samir produces around 8.0 million tonnes of oil products a year, including 1.5 million tonnes of diesel oil. It imports an extra 500,000 tonnes a year to meet local demand.

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