Morocco’s 2027 Finance Bill faces scrutiny over social aid, pensions, and advanced regionalization

MPs from both the majority and opposition continued debating Morocco’s 2027 Finance Bill on Thursday before the House of Representatives’ Finance and Economic Development Committee, raising concerns over several proposed measures.

The discussions covered social aid, pension rules, student grants and advanced regionalization, including calls to review eligibility criteria and ensure a fairer distribution of public investment.

**PAM questions student grant criteria, calls for more university options in Ouarzazate **

PAM MP Imane Lamaoui said Ouarzazate has limited university options, forcing some students to move to other cities to find the right programs.

She noted this leaves families facing the added costs of rent, food, transport, and study supplies.

Lamaoui welcomed plans to increase the number of grant recipients to 430,000 but said many students who need financial support remain ineligible or miss out because of the limited number of grants and the eligibility criteria.

Lamaoui said family income should be assessed based on the number of family members and children, their actual expenses, and how far they live from universities, explaining that an income that barely covers a family’s needs may not be enough when two or three children have to study outside their home province.

The MP stressed that the grant not only helps families keep their children in education but is also an investment in Morocco’s future.

She warned that when a young person drops out, the country loses a potential doctor, engineer, or technician, at a time when it already faces shortages of doctors and other specialists.

The MP also urged the government to speed up the construction of planned higher education institutions in Ouarzazate, expand university programs linked to local job opportunities, and set clear targets for investment in human capital.

**RNI questions income-based social aid criteria, says electricity bill exemption misses needy families **

RNI’s Taoufik Kamil said the national team’s achievements had raised the bar, and Moroccans now expect the same in their daily lives and household finances.

He questioned the government’s economic policy, saying families can no longer afford basic food items as easily as before. He cited figures from the HCP showing that prices have risen by around 21% since 2017, with food prices up 29%.

Kamil also welcomed the increase in direct social aid from MAD 500 to MAD 600 but asked how income-based eligibility would be calculated and called for clear explanations when benefits are suspended.

The MP urged the government to protect people with chronic illnesses from losing health coverage immediately after their assistance is stopped.

Kamil also criticized the decision to exempt households with electricity bills below MAD 100, arguing that these are often second homes or vacant apartments, while three or four families in poorer neighborhoods may share one meter and end up with bills above that amount.

On health, the MP said that despite annual increases in health budgets and staffing, the sector’s problems remain unresolved.

He argued that the focus should be on holding staff accountable and making sure they work their full hours before hiring more people.

Kamil also questioned whether the health and education budgets include funding to repair school and hospital buildings, noting that some public schools still lack basic amenities and rely on donations from benefactors for repairs.

**Istiqlal calls for fairer investment distribution to strengthen advanced regionalization **

Moufida Ouidad of the Istiqlal Party said the success of advanced regionalization depends on giving regions the financial and human resources and powers needed to carry out their responsibilities.

Ouidad called for a fairer distribution of public investment that takes into account each region’s needs and potential.

The MP said the challenge is not just to attract investment and complete projects but to ensure they have a direct impact on locals’ lives by creating lasting jobs, developing local skills and involving small and medium-sized businesses in the supply chains and services linked to major projects.

PJD urges review of two-year marriage rule for widows’ pensions, higher aid for bereaved mothers

PJD’s Aziz Hannaoui welcomed the plan to raise widows’ pensions to 100% but called on the government to review the rule requiring couples to have been married for at least two years for the widow to receive her husband’s pension.

Hannaoui also called for an increase in the MAD 820 allowance paid to mothers whose sons die in the line of duty, and added that remarriage should not deprive these mothers of their sons’ pensions.

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