(MENAFN) Morocco is considering changing its expensive system of subsidies for food and energy in June, Reuters reported.
General affairs and governance minister Mohamed Najib Boulif said that the government is prepared to do the reform steps if a political decision to do so is taken.
The government now plans to cut the subsidies and shift the focus of spending to the poorest Moroccans. The plan was supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The plan constitutes of a monthly cash payments of USD114.4 to some 2 million of the poorest families; if the reform plan is applied, this could reduce the annual bill to USD2.75 billion.
Boulif said the reform would take around four years and could in itself eventually raise inflation, now officially running below 2 percent, to 7 percent.
State subsidies on food and energy jumped to USD6.25 billion last year, accounting for 15 percent of total public spending, compared to USD5.6 billion in 2011, and USD3.4 billion in 2010.
The government spent heavily to ensure social peace in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings elsewhere in the region.
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