Moroccan High Commissioner for Planning Ahmed Al-Halimi revealed that the government's retreat from the partial floating of the dirham exchange rate is due to factors related to the possible existence of threats to public finance, in reference to the abnormal volatility of the speculations of professionals, brokers and arbitrators in the black market for exchange, which they imposed on the acquisition and exchange of currencies Foreign exchange in the structured markets, and illegal currency conversion.
He added that the decision to postpone the liberation of the Moroccan currency would be an opportunity for the officials supervising this sensitive issue in order to develop a vision of the reforms that must be achieved, which he considered to remain linked to other reforms that are unanimously agreed by all concerned parties, including politicians, not just economists. He added that Moroccan officials are required to continue to provide the necessary conditions to improve Morocco's economic performance and continue to control its structural deficit.
He stressed that the expectations of the Commission indicate that the growth rate will be close to 4 per cent during the current year, and the same percentage in 2018, after a low rate in 2016, which did not exceed 1.2 per cent. Al-Halimi linked this optimism with the improvement in the level of external demand for Moroccan goods and services by 4.8 percent in 2017 and 2018. He pointed out that improving the digital competitiveness of the Moroccan economy will be the main catalysts that will contribute to creating this dynamic of the national economy.
The spread of the digital revolution and the scale of its changes in activity and the behavior of an increasing number of economic and social actors in the fields of production, exchange, employment and consumption. With the new sharpness of the awareness of decision makers and economic and social actors, especially in developed countries, about competitive conditions respecting the environment, the opportunities offered by the digital revolution are gradually changing the microeconomic systems, the macro-economic style and the neo-liberal policy approaches.
He pointed out that the national economy should improve its performance and continue to bear the impact of its structural deficit. In this context, he said, “Our country will benefit from external demand rising by 4.8 per cent in 2017 and 2018, and will participate by achieving 4 per cent, as an economic growth rate in this global growth growth map, and through the presentation of the 2018 Prospective Budget, Strengths and Disabilities and Discussion.
He continued that poverty reduction by reducing inequality and social cohesion should be reduced by reducing the social stress factors that we are working on at HCP to develop some indicators for it to inform the political decision, which will to some extent be counter to the welfare indicators we have measured and published.
In the light of these reforms, we will as well, should assess the hardness of macroeconomic fundamentals, financial stability and the performance of our public policies. Its success will be real as long as its timing is good and its collective ownership is assured, within a strategic approach that can determine its causes.