MP Mohamed Hjira Sounds Alarm in Parliament Over Exodus of 52,000 Citizens from Taounate and Calls for Overhaul of ANAPEC Employment Programs

RABAT (FesNews Media) — Member of Parliament Mohamed Hjira, representing the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) for Taounate Province in the Fez-Meknes region, delivered a forceful intervention during Monday’s plenary oral questions session at Morocco’s House of Representatives, urging the newly appointed Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills, Abderrahim Chahid, to conduct a comprehensive overhaul of national employment policies and rural job creation mechanisms.

Congratulating Minister Abderrahim Chahid on his royal appointment, MP Mohamed Hjira emphasized that employment policy cannot operate in isolation from broader public investment and industrial strategies, calling for stronger inter-ministerial convergence to direct job-creating investments toward underserved provinces.

Evaluating 20-Year-Old Employment Programs and Reforming ANAPEC

Addressing the efficiency of state-backed labor market programs, Mohamed Hjira stressed the urgent need for an objective audit of active employment schemes that have been in place for 20 to 26 years without delivering the expected results for Moroccan youth and university graduates.

He specifically called for a structural review of the working methodology and mediation capabilities of the National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Skills (ANAPEC), urging the agency to modernize its institutional tools to effectively bridge the gap between job seekers and private-sector employers.

Strengthening the Labor Inspection Corps to Protect Existing Jobs

Turning to workplace stability, the PAM lawmaker highlighted the vital role played by Morocco’s Labor Inspection Corps in managing professional relations and resolving individual and collective labor disputes before they escalate into job losses.

Hjira underscored that preserving existing jobs is just as critical as creating new ones, calling on the ministry to provide labor inspectors with enhanced resources and institutional support to safeguard employment stability across the Kingdom.

Rural Exodus of 52,000 Residents from Taounate and Direct Graduate Integration

Highlighting territorial disparities affecting rural and mountainous areas, MP Mohamed Hjira warned against allowing rural provinces to become demographic repulsion zones due to the scarcity of economic opportunities. Citing official census figures for Taounate Province, he revealed that the province lost approximately 52,000 citizens over the past decade as young men and women migrated in search of employment.

He concluded by calling for a direct targeting mechanism to integrate holders of vocational, technical, and university diplomas into industrial, commercial, and administrative sectors so that Morocco’s public investment in education translates into tangible economic inclusion—a call echoed in Minister Abderrahim Chahid’s announcement of a proposal to convene a Third National Conference on Employment.