Public sector: World Bank approves $600 million in financing

Hibapress

The World Bank has just approved funding of $600 million for two programs aimed at strengthening the performance of the public sector, improving inclusiveness and the quality of public services in Morocco.

According to a press release published Monday in Washington, the first program which supports the implementation of the reform of public establishments and enterprises (EEP) in the amount of 350 million dollars, “aims to improve governance, restructuring, neutrality competitiveness and monitoring of the performance of EEPs”.

The additional funding of $250 million for the Moroccan Public Sector Performance (ENNAJAA) program will continue to support the Moroccan government’s efforts to improve performance and transparency, focusing on the modernization of public administration, including through digitalization and public finance management reforms, added the same source.

“The priority objective of these two projects is to improve the performance of the public sector and the quality of public services provided to Moroccan citizens, in accordance with Morocco’s new development model,” declared Jesko Hentschel, Country Director for the Maghreb and Malta to the World Bank, cited in the press release.

The World Bank will thus support the Moroccan government from the initial phases of the EEP reform, with an emphasis on results, by strengthening the technical and implementation capacity of the two executing agencies, namely the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in particular its Directorate of Public Enterprises and Privatization (DEPP) and the newly created National Agency for the Strategic Management of State Participations and Monitoring the Performance of Public Establishments and Enterprises (ANGSPE), all by encouraging coordination.

“The reform of the EEP is a priority for Morocco, as highlighted during the last Council of Ministers chaired by His Majesty King Mohammed VI on June 1. From a perspective of national prosperity, the objective is to restructure the public portfolio, improve its performance and carry out reforms to offer the population accessible and high-quality services,” added Jesko Hentschel.

In terms of public sector performance, the initial ENNAJAA program is already recording “significant” results after almost two years of implementation, with a notable increase of almost 7% in additional tax revenues thanks to better compliance at the national level, as well as a 22% increase in revenues collected by the ten largest municipalities at the subnational level.

According to the World Bank, this additional financing for the ENNAJAA program will prioritize improving the efficiency of public spending and revenue management, including greater budget transparency for citizens on public spending.

It will also facilitate the adoption of climate-sensitive budgeting, a first in Morocco, and gender-sensitive budgeting for eight ministerial departments by the end of the project, scheduled for 2028.

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