Morocco Finance Minister Fouzi Lekjaa Defends 2027 Budget Bill, Unveils 350 Billion Dirham Five-Year Social State Package

RABAT (FesNews Media) — Morocco’s Minister of Economy and Finance Fouzi Lekjaa delivered a forceful government reply before the House of Representatives on Saturday morning, November 14, 2026, ahead of the decisive vote on Part One of Draft Finance Bill No. 60.26 for fiscal year 2027, affirming that the budget framework is anchored directly in High Royal Directives and commits more than 350 billion dirhams over the five-year governmental mandate to safeguard household purchasing power and expand social protection.

Addressing lawmakers in a plenary sitting chaired by Speaker Ahmed Touizi after more than three weeks of intensive parliamentary scrutiny, Lekjaa pushed back firmly against attempts to spark controversy under the parliamentary dome over the strategic reference to Royal Directives in drafting the annual budget, stating unequivocally that such polemical interpretations warranted no response and emphasizing that the bill simultaneously translates the coalition’s Governmental Program and Morocco’s New Development Model into binding budgetary appropriations.

Celebrating Diplomatic Momentum on the Moroccan Sahara and Unity Day

Opening the executive branch’s formal response, the minister highlighted Morocco’s historic diplomatic breakthroughs regarding the Moroccan Sahara, noting that a decades-long chapter had reached its conclusion following broad international recognition of the Kingdom’s sovereignty, ushering in a new phase of institutional and territorial development outlined by His Majesty King Mohammed VI during the first anniversary of Unity Day.

Lekjaa reiterated the government’s unwavering commitment behind the Monarch toward the definitive closure of the artificial dispute, paying formal tribute to the Royal Armed Forces, the Royal Gendarmerie, National Security, Auxiliary Forces, Territorial Administration, and Civil Protection personnel safeguarding Morocco’s borders and national stability.

350 Billion Dirhams Over Five Years and 60 Billion in Year One

Turning to macroeconomic balances and household living standards, the Finance Minister stressed that King Mohammed VI called for a decisive structural shift during the current legislative term capable of harmonizing economic growth with social and territorial justice, despite persistent global headwinds marked by armed conflicts and sluggish growth across the Eurozone, Morocco’s primary trading partner.

Rejecting opposition claims of populism, Lekjaa underscored that consolidating the Social State rests on concrete fiscal commitments totaling more than 350 billion dirhams across the five-year mandate to reinforce purchasing power, upgrade public healthcare and education, and improve everyday living conditions, with 60 billion dirhams mobilized immediately in the government’s first annual budget for 2027.

Rebutting Premature Criticism of a Cabinet Less Than One Month in Office

Lekjaa also challenged opposition attempts to label the executive a failure before its policies take effect, reminding deputies that the coalition government led by Prime Minister Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri has been in office for less than one month and urging parliamentary actors to evaluate the administration on the tangible managerial reforms and investment measures accompanying the enactment of the 2027 Finance Law.

Following the government’s plenary reply and the vote on Part One of Bill No. 60.26, standing parliamentary committees are scheduled to convene immediately to vote on sectoral ministerial budgets before deputies return to the chamber later Saturday to debate Part Two and hold the final comprehensive vote sending the 2027 Finance Bill to the House of Councillors.