Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
January 17, 2009

Increase in prices leaves Moroccans unhappy
By Sarah Touahri 2009-01-07

The cost for several basic products and services increased in Morocco with the start of the New Year. Disgruntled consumers are calling for the price of certain commodities to follow international markets.

With the start of the 2009, Moroccans were caught off-guard by the increase in the price of a number of products and services. This is the second price rise in just a few months. For instance, milk went up by 20 centimes a litre, which has had an effect on the prices of drinks in cafés. The Centrale Laitière dairy processing plant does not consider this a price rise, but rather a price correction in line with the soaring cost of raw materials. Costs increased for both milk production and packaging. Consumers are worried that there will be repercussions on the price of derivative products.

Another price increase is affecting Casablanca’s public transport system. Bus tickets went up by 50 centimes.
"Casablanca’s public transport management and monitoring committee decided that the increase would be needed for the transport company to guarantee continuity of service," explained the chairman of the urban commune, Mohamed Sajid. He stressed that intervention by the authorities is imperative given the challenges threatening the sector.

Elsewhere, price hikes are also affecting motorway services. Users were surprised when faced with an average 2.9% rise in tolls on January 1st. According to Mustapha Mesoudi, head of the new products department, this can be explained by the increase in VAT on motorway tolls from 7% to 10% under the 2009 finance bill. Drivers were unhappy with the move. "Why should consumers have to bear the rise in VAT? It always turns out like this", exclaimed Rajae Badi, a public sector worker. "The government should think about this before preparing its finance bill. Last year, it was the rise in VAT on lease lending. And we had to make up the difference".

Moroccans were expecting prices to fall following reductions in the price of oil on international markets, but they remained sceptical in the face of the current situation. "The price for products keeps going up. The rise can certainly seem significant at times. But if you add up the increases and compare them with salaries, you realise what a delicate situation people on low incomes face", said Rachid Chaoui. He called on the government to control prices to protect the people’s purchasing power.

The president of the national federation of consumer associations, Mohamed Benkeddour, said that the government has always put forward the argument of rising prices at the world level to justify increases. "This excuse no longer holds water," he stated. "You have to respect changes at the international level".

Economist Jamal Bahaoui concurred. He said that over the past six months the price of oil and food products has fallen, but the Moroccan citizen has not benefited from this at their local market. "It’s the government which benefits from the resources and the falling prices at an international level". So far, no official reaction has been forthcoming from the government. When contacted about the issue, the minister for general and economic affairs gave no response.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2009/01/07/feature-01
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ADIH launches fashion city project in Morocco and creates 8,000 jobs.
By Jumana Al Tamimi, Associate Editor  November 22, 2008, Marrakesh:

Abu-Dhabi Investment House (ADIH) inaugurated in Morocco last week its first phase of a $7 billion (Dh25.69 billion) project to build fashion cities in several parts of Asia and Africa. The launch of the $400 million Porta Moda Marrakesh project in the current international circumstances goes to show that ADIH's investments and plans are not affected by the global financial crisis, company executives stressed.

"First of all," Rashad Janahi, board member and managing director of ADIH said, "we don't have any relation with the [international] banks that have declared bankruptcy." Also, "the markets that we are choosing are successful ones [economically]," he told a press conference, referring to the great potential of some developing countries, including Morocco, where the economy is expected to grow up to 6 per cent next year. The north African countries have "proven to be attractive for investments" he added."We are looking forward to more investment in these countries," Janahi said.

Apart from investments in fashion cities and real estate, Janahi told Gulf News that ADIH is investing in other fields, such as agriculture and entertainment, while it also seeks to diversify its investments geographically. "We have investments in the Gulf region, in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Bahrain," Janahi said. "We have various investments, not in Europe and the US, but in countries where we see we can invest in," he added. According to ADIH plans, Porta Moda Marrakesh, which was launched on Wednesday, is expected to be followed by other projects of similar concepts in Tunis, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and India. The total cost of the mixed-use development projects is $7 billion. Currently, ADIH is working on the final details of its next investment in Tunis, company executives said.

Education
"Study has also shown that young adults are moving towards studying aesthetics and arts," ADIH noted in a press statement. "With Porta Moda being within their geographic reach, they will be able to get their education at the hands of the international talent and expertise," it added.

A Porta Moda Advisory Board was created especially to give advice on the implementation of the Porta Modas around the world. It includes some of the most famous style and fashion brands, such as Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, Bulgari, Christian Dior, London Fashion Week, Neiman Marcus, and London School of design.

The Marrakesh project comprises of a Medina, an academy, an entertainment and a sports centre, a clinic and a hotel. The Medina or down town Porta Moda includes residential complexes and luxury apartments as well as retail shops for international brand names and hand crafts. It is expected to be completed in the next five years. It will provide 8,000 jobs.

Key stats: Porta Moda project.
--Porta Moda Marrakesh is a complete international city for fashion and style on an area of 300,000 square metres.
- The cost of the project is estimated at $400 million
.-The project is expected to provide 8000 job opportunities.
-The project is expected to include some of the high-end fashion houses, design institutions, entertainment facilities and housing units.

ADIH investments
- Abu-Dhabi Investment House was established in 2005 as an investment company which follows the rules and regulations of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates.- ADIH's investments are in many cities in the Gulf region, Asia and Northern Africa, including Qatar, Lebanon, India and Bahrain.
- Some of its main investments in many Arab countries include establishing "entertainment cities" at a cost of $ 10 billion.
- Apart from its headquarters in Abu-Dhabi, ADIH has two representative offices in Manama and Geneva.
http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Development/10261865.html
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Morocco emergency plan incentivises private school investment.
BI-ME: BI-ME staff 23-11-2008

The Moroccan government is pursuing a two-part plan to improve the nation's education system, including aid to public institutions and a campaign to expand private schools into rural areas. The government aims to work with the private sector to provide quality education to all Moroccans.

With many Moroccan families willing to take on the financial burden of private school tuition rather than send their children to overcrowded and often inferior state schools, the government is now working on two fronts to enhance educational options for the country's youth: fixing problems in public institutions and encouraging private school development in rural areas. Morocco's education ministry wants the private sector to work alongside the state to make education universally available. Incentivising the expansion of private schools also helps relieve the financial burden public education imposes on the government.

There are more than 500,000 private school students attending some 1,800 institutions in the Kingdom, according to a survey last year by Moroccan economic TV show magazine EchoEco. The education ministry reports that private education accounts for 7.4% of all school education in Morocco. The charter for education and training aims to increase that portion to 20% by 2010.

In Morocco's big cities, however, there is no shortage of enthusiasm for private schools. There are many parents who prefer to send their children to private establishments, despite the financial constraints. Some even take out bank loans to avoid state schools, which have a number of disadvantages as far as they are concerned. They believe that by doing so they are guaranteeing good quality education for their offspring.

Fatima Bahiji, a nurse, has raised her son Badr on her own following her husband’s death. Her salary is barely enough to cover the rent and essential everyday expenses. Despite finding it difficult to make ends meet, she decided that Badr would be educated in a private school. She has had to work additional hours in a private clinic to achieve this goal. "The school costs MAD1,500 per month, which is nearly half of my salary, while the rent is MAD 2,000. I had to find a solution so that my son could have a decent education, without violence," she said with conviction.

State schools, she said in an interview for Magharebia, have been unable to keep up with the needs of the new age, due to the poor morale of teachers, overcrowded classrooms and poorly prepared courses.

Like many parents, Mohamed Bezioui, a public sector worker, could not resist the temptation of private education. His daughter Myriam was studying in a well-respected private school in Rabat. But when his second son reached school age, he simply could not send him to the same school as his sister. "After thinking about it for a few days, I decided to send them both a state school. I felt bitter about it, but I wanted to make sure they both had the same opportunities. I would be happier if state schools offered a much better service. Sadly, the level is dropping more and more," he said.

Private schools are motivated by profit as well as educational aims. The "collapse" of state schools has had a crippling effect on parents, says sociologist Maraouane Balimi. Today, families are more concerned than ever about their children's future, whereas a few decades ago there was great confidence in state education. "Parents were convinced that a baccalaureate or degree would be sure to guarantee a place in the labour market. But now with the levels of graduate unemployment and the failure of state schooling, families are looking for quality education which will meet the needs of the future," she explained to Magharebia.

The government is encouraging more widespread development in the private school sector, which suffers from a concentration of establishments along the Kénitra-Casablanca axis. Rural areas, where purchasing power is low, are of little interest to investors. Investment in the major cities guarantees a considerable profit margin, investor Mohamed Kamal told Magharebia. It is less certain in the country or in smaller towns. "You have to realise that private schools are set up by investors to make a profit, and that takes priority over any educational aim," he said.

"There is plenty of demand in the cities. The market has not yet been saturated." To generate interest from private education investors in regions outside the usual urban centres, the government has launched several incentives. Investors are not required to pay VAT on equipment and, for the first five years of operations, they receive a 50% exemption from corporate income tax. Educational projects are additionally underwritten by the treasury.

Along with private investors, students and teachers are receiving some government accommodations. Under one such policy, private school teaching staff may take training courses at centres run by the national education ministry. Pupils attending private education establishments can also now sit public examinations and teachers from the state sector may also, once authorised, work part-time in private schools. Although the government is taking these steps to aid private schools, it is also trying to restore the image of the state education sector.

Experts say the successes of public and private schools are inextricably linked. The rehabilitation of public schools is crucial to the development of a democratic and modern Morocco, Education Minister Ahmed Akhchichine said in September when the government unveiled a new multi-tier education strategy. Moreover, the successes of public and private education are inextricably linked, sector leaders maintain.

The 2009-2012 national education reform programme hopes to bring new life to Morocco's schools. Officials say planned reforms will make state schools more attractive, more receptive, and more in tune with the needs of their neighbourhoods.

The emergency plan emphasises the need to develop private education to take some of the burden away from state budgets. New measures under consideration include facilitating private investment, handing over the running of existing state schools to the private sector, and the promotion of a new management and operation model. Other agreements call for improving school libraries, boosting technology and arts classes and increasing physical education and organised school sports.

From increasing school meals and the number of students in boarding facilities to building new schools, the government is budgeting millions of dirhams to step up the pace of development projects as part of the new emergency plan, according to Latifa Labida, Secretary of State for Higher Education and Training. "We are talking about giving schools the attention they deserve," Labida said.
http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?id=27741&t=1&c=33&cg=4&mset=
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Moroccans give fresh twist to kaftan.
Nov 30, 2008 CASABLANCA, Morocco (AFP)

For centuries it has been the sartorial standard for women's wear in Morocco. Now a group of Moroccan fashion designers say it's time to give the kaftan a modern twist. The third annual edition of Mode Made in Morocco, organised by Maroc Premium magazine and held over the weekend in Casablanca, featured eight designers keen to show that fashion and tradition can thrive together.

"Moroccan designers are getting more and more orders from abroad," said Michele Desmottes, the fashion show's director. "There's exceptional creativity in Morocco." Her view is shared by the Parisian couturier Dominique Sirop, the show's guest of honour. "For three years, we've been seeing a real emergence of Moroccan designers, worthy of what is happening in other countries," he said. "They prove that Morocco is not just the sun, tajine and the kaftan."

Most of the outfits seen Saturday testified to much research and imagination. If the fabrics looked traditional with their embroidery and shimmering colours, the tailoring was much more contemporary, with bustiers and short skirts contrasting with the common flowing kaftan.

Designers such as Jamal Daoudi and Nabil Dahani still draw inspiration from Morocco, but as they work in Paris, their creations seem more audacious, more modern, lighter, and indeed more European. Hassan Tanner took home the Jean-Louis Scherrer prize for his dresses that were light and closely cut to the body -- perhaps the most radical designs to be seen at the weekend's show.

Creations by Marrakesh-based Frederique Birkemeyer were equally feminine, rich in embroidery and inlay.
One wonders what Yves Saint Laurent would have thought. The legendary French designer, who died in Paris in June aged 71, kept a second home in Marrakech, and many of his best creations took inspiration from the kaftan.

Menswear got a look-in at this year's Mode Made in Morocco as well, with Tangiers native Salima Salima Abdel-Wahab sending out two highly original outfits light years from that classic desert robe, the djellaba.

Organisers nevertheless unanimously regretted a lack of support for the show this year from both the government and the garment industry. "It is time to wake up and to encourage individual talent," Desmottes said, as Sirop underlined the role that fashion can play "in the economic development of the country." http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gi7jOlKmQB5-op4TPAjVcsUeWhRA
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