Morocco’s Cafe and Restaurant Industry in Crisis: Owners Seek Government Rescue Plan

Faced with the serious crisis marked by a cascade of layoffs and a multitude of cafe and restaurant closures, the National Association of Cafes and Restaurants of Morocco calls on the government for help, proposing the urgent need to make the rescue plan submitted to parliament operational. In this rescue plan, the organization of professionals in the sector is demanding that the State cover 50% of the monthly contributions to the CNSS, retroactively and for the entire duration of the pandemic.

Moreover, cafe and restaurant owners propose a 30% salary compensation for all workers in the sector who have lost their jobs, until the end of the pandemic. In addition, they want a two-year extension after the end of the pandemic, of exemptions from penalties and fines related to CNSS contributions.

The professional tax, municipal taxes and terrace permits should be abolished, according to the wish of these professionals who call on the government to end mass evictions for non-payment of rent. The Association also suggests lifting or postponing the curfew hours after the holy month of Ramadan.

Already weakened by the advent of the coronavirus, cafes and restaurants have been plunged into an unprecedented crisis due to the restrictive measures adopted by the public authorities to curb the spread of the virus.