Washington — The World Bank's Board of Directors has approved US$600 million for Morocco, which will finance two projects to improve public service delivery, inclusiveness, and the performance of the public sector.
The first project, 'Supporting the Implementation of SOE Reform in Morocco' (US$350 million), is designed to improve the governance, restructuring, competitive neutrality, and performance monitoring of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the institution said in a statement Monday. It will do so by strengthening the state's state-ownership functions, improving SOE governance and management practices, fostering performance monitoring - including climate impacts- and providing a framework for fair competition.
The additional financing for the 'Public Sector Performance' (ENNAJAA) program (US$250 million) will continue support for the government's efforts to enhance performance and transparency, focusing on modernizing public administration through digitization and reforms in public financial management.
"The ultimate aim of these two projects is to enhance the performance of the public sector and elevate the quality of public services delivered to Moroccan citizens. This is in line with Morocco's New Development Model, which stresses the need for a paradigm shift to promote inclusive, private-sector-led growth," said Jesko Hentschel, Country Director for the Maghreb and Malta at the World Bank.
The World Bank has supported the Moroccan government in the initial stages and implementation of SOE reform by focusing on results, strengthening the reform implementation capacity of the two implementing agencies, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the newly created state ownership agency, and encouraging coordination. These efforts have already achieved measurable results, including an increase in women's representation on SOE boards of directors from nearly none to 30 percent, greater competitive space for the private sector, and the inclusion of climate reporting.
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"The reform of SOEs is high on Morocco's agenda, as highlighted by the last Council of Ministers chaired by His Majesty King Mohammed VI on June 1. With a vision of a prosperous Morocco, the aim is to reconfigure the public portfolio, improve its performance, and carry out reforms to ensure accessible, high-quality public services to the people," added Jesko Hentschel.
On public sector performance, after almost two years of implementation, the initial ENNAJAA program has already shown results, including an increase of nearly 7 percent in additional tax revenues through better compliance at the national level and a 22 percent increase in revenues collected by the ten largest municipalities at the subnational level, the World Bank stated.
This additional financing for the ENNAJAA program will prioritize improving public spending efficiency and revenue management, including greater budget transparency for citizens on public spending. It will also enable the adoption of climate-sensitive budgeting, a first in Morocco, and gender-sensitive budgeting for eight ministerial departments by the end of the project in 2028.
