HIBAPRESS – Ahmed Al-Musaed
The National Trade Forum held in Marrakech witnessed a strong intervention by Noureddine Al-Harraq, President of the National Federation of Cafe and Restaurant Owners in Morocco, during the second workshop on "Strengthening the Regulatory Framework to Create an Incentive Climate for Traders." He shed light on the economic weight of the sector, while criticizing what he described as "organizational chaos" that the profession suffers from due to the decisions of local authorities.
At the beginning of his speech, Al-Harraq expressed his surprise at the insufficient involvement of the sector in official platforms for discussion, revealing shocking figures reflecting the size of the sector. He confirmed that out of 600,000 commercial points of sale in Morocco, the cafes and restaurants sector alone accounts for 200,000 points, meaning that this sector represents a third of the national commercial fabric. Al-Harraq strongly criticized the regulatory decisions issued by the municipal councils, describing them as "in need of a comprehensive review." He gave an example of early closing decisions (11 p.m.) in some cities during the summer, stressing that these decisions lack realism, saying: "How can professionals be forced to close at a time that coincides with the Isha prayer, and at the peak of summer tourist activity?" He also recounted an incident he described as "unfortunate," where the authorities intervened in one city to force customers to leave the tables while their meals were still being prepared, on the pretext of adhering to the closing time, which he considered a blow to the entrepreneurial stability of the sector. At the end of his intervention, the president of the federation stressed the need to issue a basic law regulating the profession, pointing out that the federation had previously submitted an integrated project in this regard. Al-Harraq pointed out with bitterness the superiority of the experiences of neighboring countries, such as Tunisia, which has a precise legal arsenal that regulates each commercial category separately, while the Moroccan professional is still floundering in the absence of laws that protect him and frame his work in a modern way. These statements come to put the file of cafe and restaurant owners back on the table of the Ministry of Interior and the relevant ministries, in light of increasing demands to stop the "moody control" of timings and levies, and to start a real restructuring of a sector that employs hundreds of thousands of workers.
