Promises, Budgets, Figures… These Measures That Defy All Logic

The RNI unveiled its programme for the 2026–2031 period at the end of June, well ahead of the other parties. A stroke of genius!

With the bar set very high, the others were forced to follow. One million jobs over five years, the SMIG at 5,000 dirhams, a minimum retirement pension of 3,000 dirhams, a fund to promote Amazigh…, measures that can now be seen everywhere.

The other parties probably believe that if the RNI promised it or did it, then everyone can do it. But at the same time, they need to distinguish themselves from it, or, in the case of its former allies, change course. So they have let themselves go.

And never mind if their promises and some of their proposals border on the absurd, not to say utopia. This has resulted in some rather ridiculous proposals.

This has given rise, for example, to figures that are simply pulled out of a hat. Starting with the figure of 350,000 jobs to be created on the occasion of the 2030 World Cup, which sits at the top of the PAM’s list of promises. And structural, permanent jobs. A mirage!

That is the least that can be said, because there will certainly be jobs, but in limited numbers and above all temporary ones. It should be noted, incidentally, that in this regard, the USFP goes even further, with 500,000 jobs.

Along the same lines, PAM, like Istiqlal, is committed to reducing unemployment to 7% within five years. Unrealistic!

For those who already have a job, PAM proposes a total tax exemption for salaries below 15,000 DH. For others, it proposes restructuring the tax scale, reducing it from six to three brackets with a marginal rate of 20%.

The tax shortfall would be considerable, and no solution is proposed to make up for it. Another “gem”: PAM’s programme promises to “bring the prices of essential goods back to their normal level” in order to protect purchasing power. Once again, this is an unfeasible promise.

The wording is economically absurd. What is a “normal” price in an open market economy dependent on global imports? The inflation of recent years has created a new ratchet effect on prices.

This promise is simply an illusion. Just like the seemingly good idea proposed by Istiqlal, again with the aim of reducing prices, to create regional companies for the purchase, storage and distribution of agricultural products.

A measure that runs counter to market liberalization and the State policy pursued by ANGSPE. This is despite the fact that the law already allows the creation of cooperatives for the same commercial purpose.

“Folkloric” Promises

Staying with Istiqlal, its programme also contains a few gems. In addition to a 7% unemployment rate, the party shares with the PPS the promise of a minimum retirement pension of 3,000 dirhams.

Attractive on paper, but as long as no profound reform of the pension funds has been undertaken, this promise remains a dead letter: an electoral promise.

The party has stood out with the idea of introducing a 5,000-dirham marriage bonus. Given that an average of 250,000 marriages take place each year, the bill quickly becomes hefty.

With the divorce rate having risen considerably in recent years, and continuing to increase, this is quite literally money thrown out the window.

In this same category of “folkloric” promises, PPS promises a “universal youth empowerment grant.” That is, 5,000 dirhams to be paid to every Moroccan at the age of 18, on the condition that they remain in education until the end of secondary school. For what purpose?

Another proposal, again from Istiqlal, is to ban social media for those under 15. Although the intention is commendable, without a biometric digital identity verification system and given the widespread use of VPNs, implementing this measure would be virtually impossible.

Along the same lines, the party proposes another equally absurd measure: taxing companies in a monopoly position at 40%.

The principle is interesting, but legally very delicate. But what is a monopoly? A dominant company? A legal monopoly? An economic rent? An oligopolistic situation?

This echoes the PPS proposal to introduce a wealth tax of 0.3% to 0.5%. The measure is politically conceivable, but in practice, it would require the means to inventory assets, value holdings, prevent transfers, monitor shell companies…

Finally, Istiqlal proposes reducing drinking-water losses in networks by 40%. In addition to the necessary budget, this would mean tearing open the arteries of our cities and replacing a gigantic share of underground infrastructure in less than five years.

This is a logistically utopian undertaking over such a short period. Along the same lines, other measures, more or less utopian, can be identified.

USFP, for example, aims to make it mandatory for 30% of public procurement to go to SMEs and 10% specifically to innovative start-ups. Yet the majority of Moroccan public procurement concerns major infrastructure projects (ports, motorways, university hospitals, desalination plants…).

The legal, financial and technical structure of Moroccan start-ups and SMEs simply does not allow them to absorb 40% of the billions of dirhams invested by the State.

The same applies to the idea of allocating 2% of GDP to research. Even if these funds were available, researchers would still have to be trained, laboratories created and partnership projects launched. None of this comes for free.