Like other countries, Morocco is going digital across almost all sectors in order to keep functioning during the shutdown the coronavirus pandemic has caused.
Prior to COVID-19, the government had instructed the Agency for Digital Development to create a 25-year digital strategy called “Morocco Digital 2025.” The digital transformation plan, which outlined priorities, also evaluated past programs including “Digital Morocco 2013.” The plan was to position Morocco as a regional digital hub and enhance its digital skills and governance.
The coronavirus, however, is speeding up the implementation of several of these digital services already planned by the government.
How the government is communicating
In response to COVID-19, the government has set-up platforms to facilitate communication with citizens and businesses. Given the importance of updated information, the government has created e-platforms on COVID-19 for health professionals and for the general public.
Even before COVID-19, in an unprecedented move, the ministry had launched a website allowing people to make doctors’ appointments in public hospitals, get health advice, and manage waiting time.
The ministry is also communicating with the public daily through its social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook.
An expert Q&A with doctors and health professionals is livestreamed every day at 3 p.m. A daily press review covers the status of coronavirus cases in Morocco by livestream through Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) social media platforms and by live broadcast on Moroccan television channels.
E-Platforms for financial support
The government also has initiatives to alleviate the economic burden on Moroccans, especially those who have lost jobs in both the formal and informal sector and businesses in difficulty.
Companies affiliated with the social security system (CNSS) should declare employees to be released from their jobs due to the economic impact of the state of emergency. They can do this on the special “Daman” or guarantee website without having to show up in person. About 86% of beneficiaries were already reimbursed for March and are scheduled to get their April allowance.
Morocco’s Economic Monitoring Committee is also supporting the country’s more than 2.4 million citizens working in the informal sector. For those who have the RAMED Health Coverage Plan card, online registration is available. The government announced 200,000 people on April 6 and 600,000 on April 9 had already retrieved their allowances. The government opened up a new registration on April 10 including non card-holders with additional data.
So far, 1.3 million Moroccans affiliated with CNSS and RAMED card holders have received allowances from the Solidarity Fund created under the instructions of King Mohammed VI to manage the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Morocco has been able to mobilize more than MAD 23 billion ($2.3 billion) for the fund.
Morocco also worked with banks to facilitate access to digital banking and financial services.
Increasing digital literacy
Morocco’s efforts to implement distance learning during the state of emergency isolation period are evolving quickly. The Ministry of Education developed, in record time, an online platform called Telmid TICE to help students keep studying following the closure of schools.
Key resources have been put in place including a digital learning content repository (in Arabic and French) for primary, secondary, and baccalaureate levels, as well as other materials.
The three telecommunications (Maroc Telecom, Orange, and Inwi) companies operating in Morocco have decided to temporarily offer free access to all “distance education and training” sites and platforms, with the exception of YouTube.
A Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platform, mainly in French, had been available before COVID-19 but now plays a key role in serving undergraduates. It is part of the ministry’s efforts to generalize the use of information technologies in higher education.
The Mohammed VI Polytechnic University also launched, on April 11, a new e-platform to assist some 9,000 students to get access to 400 free courses, following preparation classes.
Other than these platforms, and to reach students in rural areas and others with difficulty accessing the internet, the ministry is using both SNRT TV state channel 4 and the sports channel to broadcast educational classes.
On vocational training, the ministry stated in a press release that as of April 7, it had created 8,836 virtual classes and 83,356 online classes for students.
Other private schools are using Microsoft systems such as Office 365, Google apps such as Google Classroom and Google Meet for educational settings.
Minister of Education Said Amzazi, whom King Mohammed VI recently appointed as the new government spokesperson, stated that students will continue their education online until further notice, and the ministry is preparing its post-quarantine strategy to provide students with instructor-led technical support in order to prepare them for their annual exams.
The minister also stated there will not be any performance assessment at this time but grading will most likely resume when students return to school so that degrees do not lose their value.
Even youth with tech-savvy and start-ups have developed free educational platforms to give more students a chance to learn through free courses during their isolation.
Moroccan universities also created counseling committees with mental health professionals to help students and the general public by telephone. One university is also organizing a series of conferences on Facebook live to give advice on how people should manage their quarantine.
Work from home & digital trends in HR
COVID-19 may change human resources trends permanently as many public and private institutions were forced to embrace remote working.
Many employees are gradually becoming familiar with Cloud-based tools, using startups like Slack and Zoom or established giants like Google and Microsoft in their remote home office.
Huge corporations with thousands of employees are using platforms such as IBM Jam to ensure good communication. However, corporate networks, used to secure private networks, may experience some challenges related to bandwidth caps and must keep remote workers from feeling cut off from their employers. Employees who work with classified data are using secured tokens to access to their company’s intranet.
Institutions are also shifting instructor-led trainings to digital trainings, using MOOCs and cloud-based training platforms.
Big data has become more important than ever today in monitoring employee performance, predicting staff turnover, and using the most appropriate selection criteria for future recruitments.
In an effort to improve workflow, the public administration created a digital mailing management office, allowing administrations and public bodies to electronically manage mail with the aim of limiting the physical exchange of documents and administrative mail.
The Directorate General of the National Office for Health Security of Food Products (ONSSA) is using the platform and informed the public they will be able to deposit their letters with an acknowledgment of receipt via this platform.
The government also put in place a complaints website, where 119 public institutions are participating in receiving citizens’ complaints, proposals, and observations.
The kingdom is also asking Moroccans to get all their administrative documents, such as birth certificates, online through the website Watiqa, in compliance with the state of health emergency rules to stay home.
Print media, go digital!
Printing and distribution of newspapers was suspended in Morocco on March 22 until further notice, said a statement from the Ministry of Culture. The ministry invited newspaper owners to convert to digital media.
The National Library (BNRM) is also offering a selection of audio books on its website. The library also monitors the digital publications and distribution of newspapers.
MAP has also put its digital daily “Maroc Le Jour” online for free. MAP also includes several newsletters and the audiovisual services of M24 and its online radio RIM.
MAP has also joined in national efforts to combat fake news. Moroccan police have arrested more than 70 people for spreading fake news since the start of the outbreak. The government council also approved a draft law to combat fake news which Parliament will debate in the spring session.
COVID-19 has certainly accelerated the digitalization process by providing the right environment for promoting a new digital culture among Moroccans.
Yet, the digital transformation must not happen in the absence of a legal framework. Online services must be based on a legal reference, and the notion of digital administrative documents must be generalized and integrated into our way of thinking.