The Moroccan government has approved a bill on a “Solidarity Tax against Disastrous Events” following devastating floods across the country.
The tax will be part of the Solidarity Fund against Disastrous Events.
During Thursday’s cabinet session, Prime Minster Saad Eddine El Othmani urged regional authorities and municipalities to better mobilize in confronting floods.
He said he was personally in continuous contact with the ministers of interior and equipment in finding better ways to deal with the floods.
The two ministers have recently visited Errachidia in south-central Morocco upon royal orders.
El Othmani said their visit will be followed by similar trips to discuss with local officials ways to deal with the floods’ aftermath.
He called on the people not to deal lightly with routine warnings issued by the weather department, which he said sometimes issues more than one weather forecast per day.
The Prime Minister also urged drivers to be cautious, saying each person is responsible for preserving the lives of others.
Dozens of people were killed and injured when a bus overturned on a bridge amid flooding in south-central Morocco.
The bus overturned Sunday near Errachidia, in a usually arid region hit by flooding after torrential rains.
Minister of Culture and Communication Mustafa El Khalfi, who is the government spokesman, said the result of an investigation into the death of eight people in southern Morocco’s Taroudant would be announced once it was over.
The victims were attending a football match in the village of Tizert when a river burst its banks following torrential rains.
Asked about a possible cabinet reshuffle, El Khalfi said in his weekly briefing that El Othmani is still studying a list of proposals on filling executive posts in the government and the civil service with high-level national elites chosen on merit and competence.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI said in July that he asked the prime minister to submit to him the proposals because certain projects and reforms require new leaders in decision-making positions.
