Those interested in economic affairs are still calling, in their recent reports, for the need to end the informal sector, given that the state budget annually loses important resources because of this sector, which threatens the economic growth of the Kingdom.
Those interested in economic affairs emphasized that more than 95 percent of the national economy, consisting of small enterprises, suffers from many problems, in the absence of support and support from the government, which is racing to attract foreign investments and encourage large and medium enterprises.
A recent report by the World Bank revealed that the percentage of the informal sector in the Kingdom reaches approximately 77.3 percent, which is among the highest percentages in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa region, which wastes very important financial resources on the state budget.
While the High Commission for Planning warned of the expansion of the size of the informal sector, especially the labor force, calling on the government to take urgent measures to remove the various problems that impede the integration of this category.
In its report, the delegate added that the percentage of informal labor exceeds 67 percent, and the decline in productivity growth constitutes the main challenge facing Morocco’s economic development.
The same source highlighted that 56.2 percent of the informal labor force largely works in the agricultural sector, while the rest is distributed in other sectors, especially small professions in trade and handicrafts.
The same source explained that the decline in productivity growth constitutes the main challenge facing the economic development of Morocco, stressing that workers in the informal sector work on average more than 145 hours, and receive an average wage that is five times less compared to the formal sector.
On the other hand, the current government has placed the file of ending the informal sector, which constitutes a great burden on the development of the national economy, among its priorities for action during the current year.
Fawzi Lakjaa, Minister Delegate in charge of the budget, said, in his answer to oral questions in the House of Representatives, that the government has studied a number of international experiences, to deal with the problem of the informal sector.
Lakjaa stressed that in the year 2024, the informal sector will be dealt with, highlighting that this sector must play an important role in the Kingdom, to revive the national economy.
The Minister Delegate in charge of the budget added that the informal economy wastes important resources on the state budget, explaining that a set of value-added tax reforms will be introduced to make it more fair.
