Mohamed Al-Muhajiri: “The PJD Government Betrayed the Poor of Morocco and Buried the Social Welfare Fund”
Express TV: Mustafa Felali
In a powerful intervention during a session dedicated to the topic of social support at the Summer University, parliamentary member Hicham Al-Muhajiri, a member of the political bureau of the Authenticity and Modernity Party, held the previous government responsible for the worsening social conditions in the Ait Boukmmaz region. He criticized its failure to activate constitutional mechanisms that could have mitigated manifestations of inequality and unrest.
Al-Muhajiri explained that implementing Article 142 of the constitution and establishing the Social Welfare Fund, intended to reduce disparities in health, education, and infrastructure, could have spared the region and others from multiple crises. He emphasized that the previous government neglected this fund, which was created in 2016 under the finance law, providing insufficient resources that rendered it ineffective.
He pointed out that the Social Welfare Fund was initially envisioned to have a twelve-year horizon, yet it remained merely theoretical and was only somewhat activated when deputies filed a petition to the Constitutional Court. This prompted the government at the time to allocate a symbolic amount of 10 million dirhams, which was not invested effectively, despite the fund’s expiration set for 2027.
Al-Muhajiri criticized the management of the program aimed at reducing regional disparities, noting that political rivalry between two major parties hampered its proper implementation. Instead of granting the fund to the regions as stipulated by Organic Law No. 113.14, which empowers regional heads and governors to oversee development projects, it was transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture.
Discussing the protests in Ait Boukmmaz, he acknowledged that their roots are primarily social. However, as electoral deadlines approach, they have been politicized. He asserted that these issues could have been overcome had previous commitments been honored and the groundwork laid for implementing the social protection initiative.
Al-Muhajiri called for keeping health coverage and social support issues free from political maneuvering, describing it as a “state path” that all parties, both majority and opposition, should rally behind, away from jabs and short-term gains. He highlighted that current statistics reflect the magnitude of the challenges, with about 50% of Moroccan households unable to afford a monthly contribution of 150 dirhams to the “Amo Tadamoun” program, while 5 million families seek support, indicating profound social issues.
He added that future electoral programs should be built on the numbers of beneficiaries, not on growth indicators or deficit ratios, clarifying that the real challenge lies in reducing the number of families deserving support by enabling them to access economic and social advancement.
In response to opposition criticisms regarding the reduction of support for widows, Al-Muhajiri clarified that the law does not refer to support for widows but rather for orphans, reminding that the current government did not introduce anything new but enacted provisions from the social protection framework devised by Saadeddine Othmani’s government in 2020.
He pointed out that former Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane had previously described the current government as “thieving,” without anyone responding at the time, only for Al-Muhajiri to remind him today that the decree on orphan support established by Benkirane himself prohibited receiving this support in conjunction with any other direct aid, such as scholarships or the “Tayssir” program, depriving orphans of an additional 90 dirhams back then.
Al-Muhajiri also criticized Benkirane’s hypocrisy, who permitted officials from municipalities predominantly overseen by his party to combine municipal and parliamentary allowances, denouncing the double standards in dealing with social support and eligibility criteria.
He concluded his remarks by emphasizing that responsibility for social support and protection lies with successive governments, urging a halt to political score-settling at the expense of vulnerable groups, and advocating for the realization of true social justice that respects citizens’ dignity and reinforces the effectiveness of public policies.
