Morocco’s Restaurant Industry Pleads for Government Aid Amid Economic Crisis

In a letter addressed on March 31 to the Head of Government, Saâdeddine El Otmani, the president of the ANPCRM, Noureddine Harrak, painted a grim picture of a sector in full decline, reports Telquel. He drew El Othmani’s attention to the bankruptcy of thousands of establishments and the loss of income for their employees, many of whom are not registered with the National Social Security Fund (CNSS). He did not fail to solicit his help in order to save the sector, while making six main proposals.

The correspondence was followed by another, sent on April 11 to the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Economic Monitoring Committee (CVE). In this letter, the president of the ANPCRM complained "of the refusal of banks to grant them loans to cope with the consequences of the crisis".

"The sector is on the verge of bankruptcy. Thousands of owners of modest cafes are no longer able to feed their families daily," confides Noureddine Harrak. According to him, "what has aggravated the situation of restaurateurs is the suddenness of the decision to close the establishments on March 16 last, without the professionals having time to take the necessary measures, or to ensure the vital expenses imposed by the confinement".

The president of the association also mentions "the multiplicity of taxes and fiscal revisions carried out by the municipal councils in recent years, which have prevented the profitability of the sector and plunged it into a spiral of borrowing, while impacting the legal situation of employees".