FOM Newsletter Fall 1999: News Round Up 12/18/99

King Mohammed address government on 1999-2004 development plan.  Economics, 12/17/99

The global development we are seeking means the country's promotion in the economic, social, cultural and political fields so all layers of the Moroccan society will profit from progress, King Mohammed VI said. In a message to Premier Abderrahmane Youssoufi, who chaired Thursday a government council to look into the 1999-2004 development plan, the sovereign stressed the need for an integrated development strategy to consolidate foundations and the structure of Moroccan society. The strategy he calls for is epitomized in four major axes. Poor regions should be promoted and included in the development dynamics with the rural world catching up thanks to more socioeconomic equipment, ways to make up for losses in revenue and struggle against illiteracy and lack of social services.

The youth, especially literate and school graduates, should be injected in the production process to make use of untapped potentials and boost creativeness and innovation at the service of Moroccan economic and social development. Women should be involved in development activity and should be given the opportunity to use all their rights and act as an active and influential element within society. The fourth axis is the fight against poverty and exclusion which are contrary to the teachings of Islam which is based on human values, mainly close solidarity, assistance and the preservation of human dignity. Planning, the royal message said, will shed light on the way and help the country take the right path and aim at strengthening of the rule of law, general interest, free enterprise and the blossom of creative energy. The sovereign also called for a new approach to development to mobilize all energies available and make them contribute to the setting up of a five-year plan as part of a long term strategy securing for Morocco a confident and optimist entry in the third millennium.

Government adopts Moroccan five-year development plan project.  Economics, 12/17/99

The government council chaired by Premier Abderrahmane Youssoufi adopted Thursday the 1999-2004 development plan project and said it would submit the document to the ministerial council and the higher promotion and planning council soon to be set up. Government spokesman Alioua said the project will also be submitted for scrutiny to parliament in January before the end of the current session. Priorities, he said, remain infrastructures, educational reform, rural development, upgrading of social standards, bridging social gaps and integration of the youths in active life. Alioua also said government would call for a special session in parliament to debate draft bills reforming education so that legislation be ready before the next academic year.

A human rights center has been dedicated lately in Fez to promote studies, research, legal reforms and human rights culture. The center will first focus on integrating human rights culture in the syllabi of all schools and will set up a special school for dropouts. Similar centers will be set up in Rabat, Agadir, Al-Huceima and other cities.

The United States is planning to invest a total of $4 billion to help Morocco improve the quality of its services and products, US ambassador in Rabat, Edward Gabriel, announced at a lecture in the USA. The investment program comprises over 20 partnership projects in tourism, infrastructure and telecoms, said the diplomat in a lecture at the Johns Hopkins University before a panel of former ambassadors in Morocco. He also stressed that the transparency with which the second GSM license was ceded has caused the trust of foreign investors. For the ambassador, Morocco, a strategic partner of the USA, needs financial support to speed up its socioeconomic development, reduce social gaps and face globalization stakes, especially as Morocco's agriculture-dominated economy depends on weather. He also invited US investors to seize the opportunities offered in northern Morocco which boasts several assets like its proximity to Europe and skilled and inexpensive labor that make of it an export-oriented production platform.

US: Morocco democratic model is the best in Middle East. Politics, 12/17/99

"The democratic model, established by Morocco under the wise leadership of H.M King Mohammed VI, is the best in the Maghreb and the Middle East region," the US ambassador to Morocco, Edward Gabriel, said on Wednesday. Gabriel, who was lecturing at the US-based Johns Hopkins University, said that King Mohammed VI and the government of Prime Minister, Abderrahmane Youssoufi, are determined to consolidate the democratic process and promote human rights principles and culture. Gabriel described the ongoing change in Morocco as "remarkable and impressive" and said, "Morocco, which is currently living one of the most significant periods of its modern history, is democratizing at a rhythm that impresses everybody." He quoted in this connection the king's various political initiatives meant to "build a more prosperous, democratic and stable Morocco." "Morocco is lucky to have a new great king who showed political wisdom and maturity," the US diplomat said, adding that the Moroccan king will need the backing of the United States and of all friendly countries "to succeed his grandiose work and consolidate his assets." "The United States is impressed by this young king, and we will continue to back Morocco, which is a strategic partner in all fields namely investments, technology transfer, human rights, education and professional exchange,"  Gabriel said, before voicing confidence as to the future of Morocco, which is, he said, currently making accurate social, political and economic choices.

Morocco cement sector seen recovering in 2000. Dec 16, 1999 By Souhail Karam

Morocco's cement sector will rebound in 2000 after two years of slow growth as the country launches big infrastructure projects under its new young ruler, King Mohammed, officials and analysts said on Thursday. Recent heavy rains have delayed construction projects and industry sales this year are expected to grow just 1.0 percent to 7.22 million tonnes, against 0.4 percent in 1998. ``The rains as of September had bad news for our sector as it stopped works at a large number of building projects,'' a manager at Cement Firms Professional Association (APC) told Reuters.  Finance Minister Fathallah Oualalou said on Tuesday that thanks to good rainfall, Morocco's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was expected to grow by 6.6 percent in 2000 after a severe drought that sliced growth to less than one percent this year. The analysts said they were confident that the new monarch would deliver on his promises to launch several projects, such as roads, hospitals, sports and social facilities as he sets his own mark on the North African country. ``We expect cement sales to grow by between 3.0 and 5.0 percent per year. That is if no exceptional event takes place,'' said Amine Boughaleb, financial analyst at BMCI Bourse. Boughaleb said the growth rate would rise dramatically if Morocco succeeded with its bid to host the 2006 World Cup or if it went ahead with plans to build 200,000 small housing units. Morocco is competing with South Africa, England, Germany and Brazil to host the event. It has pledged to invest 5.6 billion dirhams ($558.2 million) to meet soccer ruling body FIFA's infrastructure and facilities requirements if it wins the bid. Omar Amine, head of the Eurobourse brokerage house, noted that the king had said the proceeds of a sale in July of a $1.1 billion cellular phone licence to a consortium led by Spain's Telefonica (TEF.MC) would be used to strengthen infrastructure. ``This will trigger a boom in cement sales,'' Amine said.

Amine said cement firms appeared well-prepared to meet the expected rise in domestic demand. Morocco sells only 200,000 tonnes to African and South American countries. The biggest company, Lafarge Ciments (LAC.CS), announced last month that it would build a new $133-million cement plant and grinder. Cior (CIOR.CS) said in August it would spend 1.0 billion Moroccan dirhams ($99.68 million) to build another cement plant. Ciment du Maroc (SCM.CS) and Asmar (ASMA.CS) merged earlier this year to form the second largest cement group after Lafarge. ``Our cement sector is modern with high-tech equipment and is not operating at full capacity.'' Amine said. ``So it could meet even a sharp increase in domestic demand.'' The three major cement firms in Morocco, Lafarge, Cior and Ciments du Maroc, represent 12 percent of the total capitalization at the Casablanca Stock Exchange (.CASA). Sales in 1998 stood at 7.15 million tonnes, with 42 percent of total sales held by Lafarge, 28 percent by Ciments du Maroc-Asmar, and 20 percent held by Cior, analysts said.

Locusts threaten Southern Morocco, Northern Mauritania  Mauritania, Agriculture, 12/15/99

Mauritania has expressed concern over the growing threat of migrant locusts in its northern areas. Mauritanian rural development and environment minister, Col. Mohamed Ould Sid Ahmed Lakhal, was quoted by the press as saying that swarms of 21 to 25,000 locusts were located in Northern Mauritania and southern Morocco.  He added that his government has taken all necessary measures to fight the plague that threatens cultures.

Moroccan tourism on road to recovery: Critics say the government's tourism policy has failed in comparison to Tunisia, and that Morocco still has a long way to go in attracting large numbers of tourists.

Morocco's tourism industry is recovering rapidly and the government sees a 28 percent rise in the number of foreign visitors this year, compared to 1998. "We expect up to 2.3 million foreign tourists this year from 1.8 million last year and we hope the number will rise to four million by 2003 or 2004," Tourism Minister Hassan Sebbar told Reuters in an interview on Monday. The 1999 tourism receipts, one of the North African country's main sources of hard currencies, would also increase to $1.8 billion from last year's $1.6 billion, the minister said. "We are actively trying to encourage investments and the government is aware of the need to resolve problems facing the tourism sector, such as providing tax incentives, allocation of real-estate for tourism projects and reducing red tape," he said. "The objective is a 10 percent annual growth, twice that of the economic annual average," he added.

The Socialist-led government is expected to sign several deals with international leisure groups in January that would add about 30,000 additional beds in the next three years. Investment accords by local and foreign leisure operators are expected to reach 8.0 billion dirhams ($798.2 million), Sebbar said. Marrakesh attack halves number of tourists A gun attack in 1994 halved the number of foreign visitors from a record three million. Morocco had said gunmen of Algerian origin stormed a hotel in the southern city of Marrakesh, killing two Spanish tourists.

Officials say the tourism industry started to recuperate only last year with a rise in the number of visitors mainly from Europe, Japan, the United States and Saudi Arabia. "Our biggest priority now is to boost the accommodation capacity especially in the main tourist attractions in (the southern cities of) Marrakesh and Agadir," Sebbar said.  "We can't meet the rising demand in these two cities. Some hotels there had been fully-booked even during the (off-peak) summer season." A tourism ministry official said last week that the deals included a $100 million project by Indian leisure giant Oberoi to build four hotels, $50 million each by French leisure groups Trigano and FRAM and a further $50 million accord with German tour operator Neckerman. Tourism growth must avoid social impact Critics say that the government's tourism policy had failed in comparison with neighbouring Tunisia, and that Morocco still had a long way to go in attracting large numbers of tourists despite thousands of kilometres (miles) of beaches, snow-capped mountains, deserts and a rich culture.

"We encourage tourism that generates higher income in foreign currencies, but we must limit the negative influence usually associated with mass tourism," Sebbar said. Some Muslim groups are opposed to what they see as the "debauchery" of Western-style nude beaches the impact they could have on the largely conservative population of around 29 million. The country has only one major beach resort in Agadir, some 600 km (375 miles) south of the capital Rabat. But Sebbar said the government planned four new resorts along the Atlantic and Mediterranean. He set no dates. ($1=10.023 Moroccan Dirhams)

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