WB Welcomes NMD, "Unprecedented" Plan Laying Groundwork for Forward-looking Model

The World Bank welcomes the new development model (NMD), proposed by the Ad-hoc Committee on the Development Model (CSMD), which establishes a participatory plan and lays the groundwork for a forward-looking model, said, on Friday, Director of the Maghreb Department at the World Bank (WB) Jesko Hentschel.

This model establishes the role and responsibilities of each actor, including citizens, in building a “prosperous, plural and open” Morocco, Hentschel told MAP.

According to him, the work carried out by the CSMD, combining reflections, analytical work and broad consultations with a range of stakeholders, constitutes a “useful” and “precious” exercise in outlining a new course for the development of the Kingdom.

The NMD offers a transformative vision for the social contract, Hentschel said, noting that the novel coronavirus (covid-19) crisis was a fundamental breaking point that certainly contributed to this new vision.

“The State mobilized itself to protect Moroccan citizens and preserve their lifestyle. A mobilization which has helped strengthen the feeling of trust and belonging, and which today must be perpetuated and consolidated”, he added.

In addition, the WB official said that the public sector can no longer afford to be both a strategist, a regulator, and a provider of services, investments and opportunities.

“Unlocking the potential of citizens and encouraging the participation and commitment of the private sector, local actors, civil society, and actors whoever they are, is today a necessary and more sustainable path to inclusion”, he added.

In addition, Hentschel noted that Morocco is well aware that its ability to become more competitive on the world market and to strengthen the well-being and prosperity of citizens requires a substantial and long-term investment in its most precious resource which is the human capital.

It also seems that this capital, with in particular education and health, is the most concerning subject for Moroccans, noted the official, specifying that the model places a strong emphasis on building the skills of citizens and the capacities of all to contribute to and be actors in development.

“At the World Bank, we welcome this change already under way for several years. The reform projects already undertaken in this direction are promising, but the challenges are significant, particularly in terms of of implementation and coordination, from the central level to the local one”, he said.

The NMD is a bearer of hope and founding principles on which both public authorities and citizens can rely to fully play their roles and focus on the collective achievement of a more prosperous future for the youth of the Kingdom, concluded Hentschel.