RABAT (Reuters) – Morocco’s parliament on Thursday approved the new government’s five-year plan that targets economic growth of 5.5 percent a year during its 2012-2016 mandate, up from around 4.5 percent in the previous five years to boost job creation.
The Islamist-led government, helped into power by the “Arab Spring” upheavals around the Middle East, is under huge pressure to deliver better living conditions for the poor, who make up the bulk of its support base. But it has yet to clearly demonstrate how it can squeeze faster growth from a spluttering economy.
The programme also targets an annual inflation rate of 2 percent until the end of 2016, marginally above the average level of the previous five-year period.
