Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
January 19, 2008

Health care reform plan benefits poor, rural Moroccans.
17/01/2008 By Sarah Touahri

The Moroccan government has announced an ambitious programme to reform its health care system to provide better care in all regions of the country. Health Minister Yasmina Baddou said the ministry hopes to make more affordable treatment available to the country's least privileged.

The Moroccan government has announced a new health strategy to bring reforms to the ailing health care sector. Health Minister Yasmina Baddou said the plan – set to run from 2008 to 2012 – will address two basic priorities: making treatment accessible to the least privileged in society and reducing the overall costs of care and medicines.

The ministry hopes to augment the patchy geographical distribution of health services and professionals. At present, Morocco has 46 doctors for every 100,000 inhabitants, with 44% of doctors located in the narrow zone between Rabat and Casablanca. The country only has 130 hospitals and 2,000 basic health care centres. Those living in remote regions are often forced to travel to the major cities for treatment.

The health ministry plans to restructure the national health system to introduce regional centres to decentralise management of health care facilities. According to the government, members of the public should be afforded accessible, high-quality care across the length and breadth of Morocco.

The hope is to provide a competitive, high-performance public health service. Another goal is to improve contact with the public service, as many patients complain about the advice given and the delays in starting treatment.

The availability of drugs is another major challenge. According to health ministry figures, drugs account for 750m dirhams of the state budget. "Due to failings in the management system," said Yasmina Baddou, "drugs are not available everywhere- we need to think about decentralisation and accountability."

Another target of the new strategy is the treatment of long-term conditions such as cancer, diabetes and mental health problems. It is also hoped that the level of care in hospitals will be improved, and that effective and systematic co-ordination between hospitals and clinics will provide a map of the nation’s health. Such information will help the government refine its approach to human resources management, to implement and broaden the medical assistance regime.

Morocco wants to reduce its level of deaths in childbirth to 50 per 100,000, down from the current rate of 227 per 100,000. Infant mortality, currently 40 per 1,000 births, is to be reduced to 15 per 1,000 by 2012.

Raising moral standards in the sector is another important component of the plan – particularly stamping out corruption in public hospitals. To fight corruption the government will create avenues for victims to submit formal complaints, developed in partnership with Transparency Maroc. One government official told Magharebia, "It is not simply a question of fighting corruption with sanctions, but also setting up preventive measures."

It is hoped that a partnership between the public sector and NGOs will help in reaching the stated goals. The ministry is aware of the value of working with the private sector for the first time to create a favourable environment and to improve the health sector.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2008/01/17/feature-02
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Morocco's Achoura festival: toys, drums, bonfires and charity.
18/01/2008 By Sarah Touahri

As Moroccan families prepare to celebrate Achoura on Saturday, January 19th, the trade in toys and traditional Tâarija drums is flourishing. In addition to celebrating with special meals, street celebrations and fireworks, families offer zakat, or a tenth of their annual money, to the poor.

The festival of Achoura, celebrated this year on Saturday (January 19th), the 10th day of Muharram, is an occasion keenly anticipated by Moroccans young and old. Families gather for special meals, bonfires and fireworks and children enjoy the chance to buy gifts.

From stores in working class districts to large shopping centres, the trade in toys flourishes ahead of the event. Many traders stock new merchandise specifically for Achoura. With a variety of dolls, plastic guns, cars, swords, masks and other toys for sale, the choice is a difficult one for children and their parents. Marked with prices to accommodate all budgets, some traders set out their goods on the floor to provide easy access to even the smallest of shoppers.

This is the second year that Samir Taj Eddine, 26, is selling toys during Achoura. "I’ve bought 10,000 dirhams worth of toys from China. Last year, I made 3,000 dirhams in one week, with capital of just 5,000 dirhams," he said optimistically.

In addition to the many toys for sale, the so-called Tâarija drums are popular this time of year. They are prized not only by children, but by adults as well. The drums are part of a deep-rooted custom with Moroccans, going back decades. Teach Selma Sefrioui has been collecting drums since she was 16. "It’s impossible not to buy a drum at the festival of Achoura. All my friends do the same as me. We meet on the big day and sing and dance," she said, as she bought a new drum.

Children celebrate in the streets during the Achoura festival, eager for the big day which follows: "Zem Zem". Although this is the name of a well in Mecca, in Morocco the name describes the day when children are completely free to spray water at their friends and adult neighbours in the street.

When evening comes, the children light great bonfires and leap, sing and dance around them for hours on end. Wearing new clothes, they set off rockets in the streets. This activity, however, has started to fall out of favour in recent years because of accidents. Indeed, every year children wind up in hospitals due to the improper use of the explosives. The government has banned the sale of rockets, but some traders still sell them secretly.

Achoura is primarily a social celebration. Families meet in houses filled with the scent of incense for a meal of dried fruits and couscous with dried mutton (gueddid). Carrying candles, Moroccans visit the dead in the cemeteries and pray for them.

It is also a zakat day. Islamic education teacher Mohamed Rahmani said the word Achoura is derived from the Arabic word for the number 10, achara. "During Achoura, Muslims offer zakat for the poor, a tenth of their money from the previous year," he said. http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2008/01/18/feature-01
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Morocco plans new rural housing projects .
18/01/2008

Morocco's housing minister Ahmed Taoufiq Hejira announced that the government has earmarked $70m for the implementation of housing projects in rural areas for the 2007-2012 period. Hejira said his ministry is targeting 140 communes in co-operation with the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), which was launched in mid-2005 to combat poverty and social exclusion. Following the September 2007 legislative elections, the government announced it would step up the pace of social housing construction to 150,000 units annually. Measures aimed at controlling costs, streamlining procedures and creating new tax-free housing available at cost are expected to help the poor segments of the population. http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2008/01/18/newsbrief-02
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Arab Fund loans Morocco $147m for water project.
18/01/2008

The Kuwait-based Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (FADES) granted a $147m loan to Morocco on Thursday (January 17th) to fund two development projects in the north of the country. MAP reported that the projects cover the construction of the $123m Oued Martil dam and the provision of drinking water to the towns of Taounate, Chefchaouen and Sidi Kacem at a cost of $85m. http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2008/01/18/newsbrief-05
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Moroccan Hollywood' to step up capacity by 2016.
Jan 15, 2008

The southern Moroccan city of Ouarzazate intends to multiply its film-making revenue by seven and become the Hollywood of the Mediterranean. "Morocco will disburse 43 million dirhams (27.3 million euros) so that by 2016, 38 feature films will be shot every year in Ouarzazate (as opposed to 11 currently), raising close to two billion dirhams," said the authorities of the city, twinned with Los Angeles, in a statement.

Beginning in 1949, Ouarzazate -- one of the most profitable film-making regions in the Mediterranean Basin -- welcomed the film crew for Orson Welles' "Othello." Since then, hosting Hollywood super productions has become a tradition for this gateway to the desert.

From David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia", to Martin Scorcese's "The Last Temptation of Christ", to several Ridley Scott films (including the recently wrapped up "Body of Lies" with Leonardo Di Caprio), the varied landscapes of southern Morocco have been a stage for feature films, advertisements and documentaries.

Following the example of Warner Bros Studios in Hollywood or Dreamworld Film City in Cape Town, South Africa, Ouarzazate is proposing supplementary infrastructure and diversified services, notably for pre- and post-production. In 2005, the so-called "Moroccan Hollywood", which had two studios, added CLA studios, one of the biggest in the world, in a joint venture with Dini de Laurentiis and Cinecitta of Italy. Subsequently, numerous film schools have opened in the country to train local personnel for foreign productions.

Finally, Morocco will step up incentives such as nominal fees for filming in historic sites, reductions on air transport, exemptions on taxes for goods and services paid for in the country, as well as the availability of official state forces for cinematic purposes. AFP
http://www.morocconewsline.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=292
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New development strategy for agriculture.
Jan 15, 2008

Speaking at the opening of the 6th Annual Institutional Seminar on Agricultural Development in Rabat on December 12, Akhannouch emphasised the need for action. "The challenges to productivity and competition in agriculture in Morocco can be addressed only through a voluntary approach and sustained effort," he said.

According to the minister, the state must take a mediator's role between the sector and investors to speed up change. "Given the realities of the sector, the current situation of farmers calls for a redefinition of the state's role in the form of new relationships between the producers and industry players," he said, adding that the state must orchestrate programmes that facilitate innovation, financing and access to markets.

Such active state support of the agriculture sector is of little surprise given the lack of rainfall in 2007. Directly or indirectly responsible for the livelihoods of roughly half of the country's population, agriculture represents a souce of both concern and potential for the Moroccan economy.

The agriculture sector's most immediate need concerns the country's significant dry spell. The government has already begun to address this particular issue by organising an array of subsidies including the purchase of equipment to reduce water loss in irrigation systems.

In addition to addressing water-related issues, the ministry's new strategy must also address another major hurdle. Inheritance practices in rural Morocco dictate that land is transferred to successive generations and split into equal shares. This traditional practice has been responsible for the decreasing size of the average plot of farmed land. According to government statistics, roughly 69% of Moroccan farms consist of plots of less than 5 ha. Only 11,000 farms currently operate on lands in excess of 50 ha. farming operations limit productivity levels, subsidies do not provide a viable solution in the long-term. As Morocco gradually integrates into the global market, its farmers will further fall behind more efficient and modernised foreign competitors, unless reforms are implemented. Moreover, World Trade Organisation and free trade agreement guidelines will apply greater pressure if the country fails to overhaul the sector.

To begin the restructuring process, the Moroccan government has pursued a strategy of leasing state-farms previously under the management of Société de Développement Agricole (SODEA). The tender procedure for leasing government lands has thus far been successful in attracting new sources of foreign direct investment (FDI) and skilled management to the sector. In 2004, 41,837 ha of agricultural leases were issued, generating Dh4.7bn ($610m) in revenue for the state coffers. According to government statistics, foreign holders of these leases injected Dh25.3m ($3.28m) into the sector in 2006.

A similar tender involving an additional 38,731 ha of state farmland was concluded in early December. While the final awarding of the leases will not be announced until early 2008, it has been acknowledged that a large number of bids were made by agricultural businesses from France, Egypt, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.

Despite the success of the state-land lease programme, the government's new agriculture strategy must address the critical issue of agricultural land segmentation and the lack of economic cooperation among the country's 850,000 small-plot farmers, who currently represent the backbone of the sector. Implementing further reforms regarding these issues will enable economies of scale and attract greater interest from foreign investors.
http://www.morocconewsline.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=294
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E-commerce: online payments in Morocco take a new turn.
14/01/2008 By Rachid Jankari

Three million Moroccans who hold a bank card are now able to use them for Internet purchases. This change, which is leading the way in Africa, became a reality thanks to a technical initiative by the Centre Monétique Interbancaire. Since December 2007, computers, PDAs, household appliances, shoes, flights and many more items have been made available for purchase over the internet to Moroccans using cards issued by local banks.

This technological marvel has emerged through the work of the Centre Monétique Interbancaire (CMI), which has just deployed a new platform certified by Visa (Verified by Visa) and MasterCard (MasterCard SecureCode) to provide full security in the processing of online payment operations, in accordance with international standards.

"With this secure infrastructure, public and private organisations can offer their services and sell their goods online to a target population of three million bank card holders," said Rachida Benabdellah, Director-General of the CMI, an umbrella organisation for Moroccan banks.

Whilst the CMI is offering the platform as payment recipient, provision of the electronic payment terminal will be the responsibility of Maroc Télécommerce, the only e-commerce operator currently in the market, whose governing body is essentially made up of banks.

On the ground, the Moroccan web surfer who wants to make a purchase online must simply provide the number of his locally-issued bank card, its expiration date and the three-figure security code which appears on the back of the card.

The merchant, meanwhile, must pay commission to both the CMI (between 2% and 3%) and Maroc Télécommerce (between 1.75% and 2.5%), depending on the volume of electronic transactions. This has to be done before online payment is made available on the vendor's website.

"With the dawning possibility of online purchases using local bank cards, administrators, telecommunications operators and water and electricity suppliers will most certainly be the first to introduce online payment for their services," predicted Azdine Montassir Billah, Director-General of Maroc Télécommerce.

Several companies have already joined this new system, such as technology vendor "Microchoix.ma" and online shoe shop "Auderby.ma". Other companies are currently preparing to roll out online payment modules on their sales sites by the first quarter of 2008, particularly in the field of air travel.

The current year should also see a great rise in the number of locally issued bank cards, since the CMI will introduce cards bearing its logo, which will boost the number of local cards currently in circulation.

The Office de Changes has given its approval in principle for a tourist payment facility of 10,000 dirhams to be included in Moroccan cards in 2008, enabling Moroccan online shoppers to make purchases from foreign websites.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2008/01/14/feature-03
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