Local Authorities: Budget Surplus of 6 Bln MAD in H1-2022 (TGR)

23 July 2022 Printable Version

Casablanca - The position of local authorities' expenses and resources showed an budget surplus of 6 billion dirhams in the first half of 2022 against a surplus of 5.2 billion dirhams a year earlier, according to the General Treasury of the Kingdom (TGR).

This surplus takes into account a positive balance of 856 million dirhams (MDH) generated by the special accounts and annexed budgets. It is intended to cover expenses incurred and to be paid during the remaining months of 2022, said the TGR in its monthly statistics bulletin of local finances dated June 2022.

The bulletin also highlights that the ordinary receipts of local authorities stood at 20.9 billion dirhams, up 4.5% compared to the end of June 2021. This is explained by a 7.7% increase in transferred revenues, 2.9% increase of revenues managed by the State and a 2.4% decline in revenues managed by local authorities.

The distribution of revenues from the main budgets of local authorities by region shows a high concentration in six regions with a 75.4% share. The revenues of the Casablanca-Settat region (more than 5 billion dirhams) account for 24% of the total revenues of local authorities, while those of Rabat-Salé-Kénitra (2.8 billion dirhams) account for 13.3% of total revenues. The revenues of the region of Dakhla-Oued Ed Dahab represent 1.3%.

The bulletin points out that expenditures by local authorities (regular expenditure, investment expenditure and principal debt repayments) amounted to 17.2 billion dirhams, up by 4.1% compared to their level at the end of June 2021.

66.4% of these expenditures are regular expenditures. The latter amounted to 11.4 billion dirhams, i.e. an 7.8% increase. This is explained by a 2.2% increase in personnel expenses and a 19.6% increase in expenses for other goods and services, combined with a 9.2% decrease in interest charges on the debt.

The breakdown of local authority expenditures by region shows a high concentration in six regions, which account for 69.4% of such expenditure. Expenditure in the Casablanca-Settat region (2.65 billion dirhams) accounts for 16.9% of total expenditure by local authorities, while expenditure in the Dakhla-Oued Ed Dahab region accounts for 1.7% of total expenditure.

As for local authorities' tax revenues, they reached 17.6 billion dirhams at the end of June 2022, up by 5% compared to their level a year earlier.

This evolution is the result of a 9.7% drop in direct taxes and an 18.5% increase in indirect taxes, the TGR said. These tax revenues made up 84.3% of the overall revenues of local authorities at the end of June, it added.