Morocco Boosts Defense Budget by 4% Amid Pandemic Challenges

The 2021 Finance Act provides for a slight increase in the National Defense budget. This budget thus goes from 45.4 billion dirhams in 2020 to 47.4 billion dirhams in 2021, an increase of 4%. Addressing the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, the minister explained that the constraints imposed by the health crisis related to the coronavirus were taken into account in the preparation of this budget. Hence this slight increase.

According to Mr. Loudiyi, "this budget reflects the efforts made by his department and takes into account the financial resources available so that the FAR can carry out the various missions entrusted to them and modernize their equipment and equipment in the best conditions".

The department’s data indicates that the payroll for civil servants in this administration amounts to 35.1 billion dirhams, representing an increase of 2 billion dirhams compared to the previous year.

With this increase, the third tranche of the salary increase for civil and military officials approved by the government in 2019 (i.e. 13 billion dirhams) will be covered. Moreover, the State’s participation (0.3 billion dirhams) in the social protection and pension systems as well as the salaries and allowances of 4,200 new positions (0.3 billion dirhams) recorded in the 2021 Finance Act will be effective.

In this budget, an envelope of 7.2 billion dirhams has been allocated to the materials and miscellaneous expenses item: 1.5 billion for the regularization of new members of the Hassan II Foundation for the social works of former military and former combatants and 5.7 billion dirhams for the FAR mutual fund, water, electricity and telecommunications bills as well as the planned aid for military hospitals and other establishments under the defense administration.

Part of this budget will be used to manage the compulsory military service for the 2021 promotion as well as the fuel, maintenance and repair costs of the equipment. The remainder will take into account the management expenses of the FAR in all its components as well as the rents of the official residences and the expenses generated by the humanitarian intervention of the Royal Armed Forces inside and outside the country.