On Saturday July 30, the Kingdom of Morocco will mark the seventeenth anniversary of the ascension to the throne of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.
The North African country with a population of almost 35 million continues to demonstrate its success and strength in the various critical sectors key to the development of every country under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.
Whereas some countries have been unsuccessful, in ensuring an equitable balance between practice of democratic principles and the monarchical system of governance, the Kingdom of Morocco, has been exemplary in blending the complex mix of the monarchy with the practice of modern democratic principles.
The Kingdom has over the years, devolved power to elected representatives in a move to facilitate and deepen the decentralization process, a situation which is a product of the Kingdom’s constitution adopted in 2011 by 70 per cent of its citizens.
More women continue to participate in the governance process at the various levels of decision-making, and it is not surprising that the popular political uprising popularly referred to as the “Arab Spring” failed to break into the political structure of the Kingdom, a further boost to the country’s strong governance structures.
Recently, the Kingdom formally applied to the continent’s African Union to re-join the group it exited in 1984.
That year, the then King of the throne, stated that “Morocco is an African nation and it always will be. And all of us, Moroccans, shall remain at the service of Africa. We shall be at the forefront of actions to preserve the dignity of African citizens and ensure respect for our Continent”.
The current bond between the Kingdom and dozens of African countries, through established diplomatic ties, reinforces its quest to re-join the continent.
Indeed, many African countries through their relationship with the Kingdom have benefited from academic scholarship schemes, financial support, business training programmes among others.
These are symbolic gestures which have deepened the bond between the Kingdom and other African countries, with one of the beneficiaries being Ghana.
As the continent’s political body speeds up the processes for economic integration, the acceptance of Morocco to the AU may be a bold step.
Morocco, over the last ten years, has recorded an average growth of between 4.2% to 4.3% in a year, which makes it one of the most resilient economies on the continent.
A new development model developed by the King after wide consultation seeks to double the country’s GDP in the next ten years which is expected to create more than a 100,000 jobs.
Moroccan companies have presence in over 25 African countries with expertise in technology and communications, construction, agriculture, manufacturing, finance and many more.
In an effort to improve agriculture and food safety in Ghana, OCP Africa, a Moroccan agro based firm, has launched its operations to enable the country achieve its objectives in the agricultural sector.
The company, which has global presence, with the view of producing modern farming equipment and improving the farming methods, also has the capacity to boost the agricultural sector.
25% of the 856 million people in Africa suffer from malnutrition and the continent still imports 35 billion USD worth of food yearly, and the anticipated collaboration between OCP Africa and key stakeholders in the agribusiness will help reverse the this negative trend.
In Ghana, Moroccan companies such as Bank of Africa and Saham Insurance continue to play their roles in the financial sector in a bid to guarantee financial security and wealth in Ghana’s developing economy.
Ghana and Morocco share a historic bond dating back to the early 50’s where the country’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, played a pioneering role with his Moroccan counterpart to free the continent off colonialist influence.
As the Kingdom marks its anniversary, the two countries must continue to work together to enable each of them attain her core objectives of improving the lives of their citizens.
–
By: Franklin Badu Jnr/citifmonline.com/Ghana