Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
July 8, 2006

Morocco Q1 GDP grows 6.7 pc. 
Morocco to increase renewable energy use by 10%.
Over 21,600 authorizations for minor marriages in 2005, minister.
Employment Initiative: Morocco to train 10,000 engineers per year up to 2010.
Family Solidarity Fund creation part of building modern society, Bouzoubaâ .
Report: Family bonds, still strong enough in Morocco.

Morocco Q1 GDP grows 6.7 pc. 
Tuesday, July 04, 2006 Reuters

Recovery in agriculture from drought helped year-on-year growth in Morocco's gross domestic product to quicken to 6.7 per cent in the first quarter from 1.0 per cent a year earlier, the High Planning Commission said. Farming output increased by 30.3 per cent, contrasting sharply with the 19.9 per cent decline seen a year earlier, when drought cut the cereals crop to 4.3 million tonnes compared with an average 6.0 million average in the latest decade. Construction and transport sectors rose 7.7 per cent and 6.2 per cent respectively in the first quarter from 4.8 per cent and 5.4 per cent a year ago, the Commission added.

The Commission has said earlier it expects the economy to grow by 7.3 per cent for the whole year versus 1.7 per cent last year. The government has predicted 5.4 per cent growth for this year. The government had initially envisaged a 5.4 per cent GDP rise for 2006 on the assumption of a cereals harvest of 6.0 million tonnes, up from 4.3 tonnes in 2005. But Agriculture Minister Mohand Laenser had said he expected cereals output to double in 2006 to 8.6 million tonnes, the biggest crop in 10 years.
http://www.tradearabia.com/tanews/newsdetails_snECO_article107635_cnt.html
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Morocco to increase renewable energy use by 10%.
By Rachid Merzaq

Morocco intends to increase the use of renewable energies by 10% by 2012 so as to meet its energy needs, said Monday in Rabat the Moroccan Minister of Energy and Mining, Mohammed Boutaleb. At the opening of an international conference on “Renewable Energies and the Treatment of Industrial Water”, organised by the Moroccan-German Association in collaboration with the German foundation, Konrad Adenauer, Boutaleb underscored that the actions scheduled for the 2006-2012 period mainly concern two wind parks under construction in Essaouira and Tangiers, with a total capacity of 200 MW, and another in Taza of 100 MW, currently under study.

The Moroccan official also pointed out the project of the thermo-solar power station in Ain Beni Mathar (Eastern Morocco), with a capacity of 230 MW, operating with natural gas and solar energy. He also recalled the programme for the introduction of large-scale solar water-heaters, currently underway.

“This programme will allow the mobilisation, in the long run, of a potential estimated at more than 400,000 cubic meters of solar collectors,” underlined the minister. He added that “these projects are part of the development strategy of the Moroccan energy sector. This aims at providing energy at the best cost, as well as generalising access to it.” Boutaleb also stressed that the organisation of this conference indicates general awareness of the need to develop clean energies, ensure a rational management of water and implement concerted strategies to achieve sustainable development.

For his part, the German Ambassador to Rabat, Gottfried Haas, said that “the programmes Morocco is carrying out in the sectors of renewable energies and industrial water treatment show the importance the Kingdom is giving to the development of this sector.” Haas added that the German Government “is doing its best to encourage the private sector in Germany to invest in Moroccan renewable energies and water purification.”

The president of the Moroccan-German Association, Mohamed Ben Moussa, underlined that the aim of this conference is to offer Moroccan and German experts an opportunity to exchange their experiences vis-à-vis renewable energies and industrial water treatment. It was also intended to “better evaluate, promote and foster cooperation and scientific and technical exchanges between the two countries.”

The programme of this 2-day conference included presentations and talks on energy-related issues, such as “The role of renewable energies in national energy strategies”.

http://www.moroccotimes.com/Paper/article.asp?idr=2&id=15769
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Over 21,600 authorisations for minor marriages in 2005, minister.

Some 21,600 authorisations for the marriage of girls that are below legal age were issued in 2005, said on Tuesday Moroccan Justice Minister Mohamed Bouzoubaâ. “The rise of marriage demands of girls below legal age is due to the transition period that followed the enforcement of the new Family Code two years ago, which limited the marriage age at 18,” the minister said at an oral session in the House of Advisors.

Under the new code, judges are less lenient in issuing exceptional authorisations for marriages of minors, he said, as the act gives them this prerogative. Statistics for the beginning of 2006 showed a drop of over 15% in divorce contracts and a rise of 3.48% in marriages in 2005, as a result of the adoption of the family code.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/News/article.asp?id=15777
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Employment Initiative: Morocco to train 10,000 engineers per year up to 2010.           
7/1/2006

Morocco aims to train 10,000 engineers per year up to 2010 to accompany the economic take-off in the kingdom. During a meeting on "Employment Initiative, 10,000 engineers," held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister, Driss Jettou, participants highlighted the economic development in Morocco, affirming that there is an increasing need for highly qualified human resources.

To accompany the economic mutations, it is necessary to train qualified executives, including engineers, they noted, underlining that all public and private engineering schools and science and technology universities are called to get involved to achieve this objective. Morocco is involved in a large program of reform and structuring projects, which requires accompanying measures notably in training, which is key for success, said Mohamed Benchaaboun, Director of the National Agency of Telecommunications Regulation (ANRT). He said that Morocco needs to step up the pace of training engineers from 4,000 engineers to 10,000 a year.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/News/article.asp?id=15696
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Family Solidarity Fund creation part of building modern society, Bouzoubaâ .
By Morad Aziz

The creation of a Family Solidarity Fund is part of the "process of building a modern society, engaged by our country under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI", affirmed the Minister of Justice, Mohamed Bouzoubaâ. In an interview published Friday by the Moroccan daily Aujourd'hui Le Maroc, Bouzoubaâ said that the Fund, which was launched in 2004 during the promulgation of the Family Code, is "a formula which draws its philosophy in the precepts of Islam and the solidarity traditions of the Moroccan society". “The Family Solidarity Fund intervenes to replace the debtor of the alimony only when it is established that this person is insolvent,” he explained.

He added that this intervention is subject to conditions linked with the situation of the ex-wife beneficiary, who should not have means of subsistence. As to the amount which will be paid by the Fund, this will be fixed regardless of the amount of the alimony established by the judge.
Concerning the sources of financing the Fund, the minister recalled the set-up of an inter-ministerial commission in order to reflect on the Fund's resources and to propose formulas ensuring their durability. In this respect, Bouzoubaâ underlined the initial identification of financial resources estimated at more than MAD 400 million per annum.

A study is currently being undertaken in order to identify other resources, which could take the form of parafiscal taxes to which certain services would be submitted. These services have to do with the family, such as the delivery of marriage certificates and birth or residence certificates, he continued. In addition, the minister recalled that the judgments rendered as regards alimony which have not been honored less than 25% of the demands for execution. The judgments that have not been executed are due to real difficulties, rising from the insolvency of the condemned people or the absence of goods or incomes likely to be seized or of the non-identified address of the person concerned.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/Paper/article.asp?idr=11&id=15810
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Report: Family bonds, still strong enough in Morocco.
By Kaoutar Tbatou

The overwhelming majority of Moroccans (97%) believe that it is the duty of children to take care of their parents when they grow old, while only 3% think this responsibility should be shouldered by the state or charitable institutions, revealed a recent report on social values in Morocco. Conducted under the aegis of the Hassan II University of Mohammedia, the research also revealed that 65% of parents still consider their children as a future source of social security.

These results, which show that family solidarity is still important in Morocco, come amid speculations that the changes the Moroccan society is undergoing with modernity and globalization would lead it to follow the model of Western countries where family solidarity and social bounds in general have succumbed to a rather materialistic lifestyle.

“Having family support is regarded in the EU 15 (the 15 Member States pre-May 2004) as the third most important determinant of quality of life, coming after ‘good health' and ‘family income'”, had revealed just two years ago a report prepared by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. The same report, prepared by Dr Hubert Krieger, added that “in the 10 new Member States, it is considered to be the second priority, on an equal footing with ‘sufficient income'.”

In fact in the West, young family members get their independence very early compared to those living in more traditional countries, including Morocco. In the kingdom, young people, especially women, are supposed to live with their families until they have their own houses, more often after marriage.

Yet, some traditional social norms no longer prevail in Morocco. Arranged marriages for example are increasingly disappearing, giving way to more freedom for young people to choose their partners. Among the surveyed people, 79% think that it is up to the young man to choose his wife, and a lesser percentage, 67%, give the right to young women to choose their husbands. The perception of large families has also changed in Morocco. Among the polled people, 46% said they prefer to have a maximum of two children. Those who prefer having three or four children represent only 28% and 18% respectively.

The study was made by a number of prominent researchers, including sociologist Hassan Rachik, researchers Abdellatif Benchrifa, Mohammed Tozi, M'hamed Abderebbi and Rahma Bourkia, who is also president of the Hassan II University, Map news agency reported. It was based on the views of 1,000 people, living in almost all the regions of the kingdom. The polled people were chosen according to their place of residence (urban/rural), age, gender, marital status, education and professional status.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/Paper/article.asp?idr=11&id=15757
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