King Mohammed VI of Morocco has called upon Members of Parliament in the North African country to focus completing their legislative plans, implement ongoing programmes and projects, and remain vigilant and determined in serving the issues that matter to the citizens.
In his address to Parliament Friday, October 10, King Mohammed urged the Parliamentarians to pay special attention to people-centric initiatives as well as adopting laws that foster the rights and freedoms of Moroccans.
The King’s address comes at a time when young Moroccans have been taking to the streets to persuade him to fire Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch and deliver the promised reforms to ailing public services.
“Therefore, the efforts made by emerging Morocco to achieve social and inter-regional equity today require mobilization of all of the nation’s energies, the King said. “The major shift I seek to achieve concerning local development necessitates a tangible change in mentalities and work methods. It also requires actual consolidation of a result-oriented culture that is based on accurate field data as well as on the use of digital technology.”
Consequently, King Mohammed called on the Parliamentarians to oversee the faster implementation of “next-generation” local development programmes, with a view of ensuring that both rural and urban areas in Morocco benefit from them.
For almost two weeks now, Morocco has been swept by demonstrations as Gen Z 212 taking to the streets to demand better public services and increased spending on health and education.
Although the 62-year-old monarch did not address the protestors directly in his speech, he said that there should be no inconsistencies or competition between the country’s national flagship projects and social programmes.
The monarch implored the elected state officials to focus on the following issues;
- Give special attention to the most fragile areas, taking into account their specificities and the nature of their needs, especially in mountainous regions and oases.
- Achieve the optimal use of sustainable development mechanisms regarding Morocco’s coastline, including the Coastal Law and the National Coastal Plan.
- Expand the scope of the emerging rural centers program as a suitable mechanism for the management of urban expansion and the mitigation of its adverse effects.
“I expect you all – government and parliament, majority and opposition – to muster all energies and capabilities, and to make the best interests of the nation and the citizens prevail over any other consideration,” he added.
