After having conducted a study about “The subsidies reform in MENA region”, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded that only five states started serious reforms to reduce the burden of energetic subsidies.
The IMF also urged the remaining countries, most of which are petroleum states, to initiate similar reforms, as the current subsidies are “costly but ineffective”, besides the fact that poor people partially benefit from this system.
According to the IMF, energy subsidies in MENA region were totaled to $237 Billion in 2011, which is equivalent to 48% of global subsidies and 8.6% of MENA states’ GDPs.
The Moroccan Times
