First point: they complain of still not having received the compensation supposed to be paid to employees by the National Social Security Fund (CNSS). According to the 2020-2022 program contract, the State undertakes to grant, from July 1 and until December 31, 2020,  »a monthly fixed compensation of 2,000 DH to employees and trainees under integration contracts, declared to the CNSS in February 2020, and reporting to employers in difficulty affiliated to the CNSS including the activity is impacted by the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

However, since July 1, employees of restaurateurs meeting the criteria defined by the program contract have still not been compensated, Media24 learns from Brahim Rmili, president of the Association of Restaurateurs of Marrakech (ARM) and vice-president of the Regional Tourism Center (CRT) of Marrakech.

Another point that annoys restaurateurs: the slow response from banks regarding the Damane Relance product. As a reminder, this product, launched on June 15, is a mechanism for guaranteeing credits to finance the recovery of economic activities. It was deployed for small, medium and large businesses with a turnover of more than 10 million DH. The amount of guaranteed credit is set at 1 month of turnover for companies in sectors other than industrial.  »Some restaurateurs submitted their request a month ago, at the end of July, and they are still waiting for a response, » Brahim Rmili tells us.

Scheduled hours and reluctant local customers

In Marrakech, restaurateurs took the bull by the horns by sending a letter, on August 24, to the wali of the Marrakech-Tensift Al Haouz region. They are demanding  »the reinstatement of closing times at 2:00 a.m. » or  »an upward revision of the closing times currently established at 10:00 p.m. ». On June 22, the National Association of Cafés and Restaurants of Morocco announced, in its conditions for reopening these establishments, their closure  »before 10 p.m. ».

A measure which has a serious impact on the activity of restaurateurs, notes Brahim Rmili, in regular contact with restaurateurs in the ocher city.

 »With the heat of Marrakech, people don’t go out to dinner before 9:00 p.m., so if restaurants have to close at 10:00 p.m…. It’s no longer even interesting to open if it’s to have customers dine in an hour. In any case, most restaurants in Marrakech are closed – either because they have not been able to reopen since March due to the heavy burdens they are facing, or because local authorities have forced them to close for non-compliance with health measures – and those which remain open are forced to close their doors at 10 p.m. It is almost impossible for them to continue working in these conditions. Adding an opening hour would already be more flexible. »

Not to mention the very low demand faced by restaurateurs, which just drives the point home.  »They can count neither on international customers nor on national customers who cannot travel to Marrakech without authorization. As for the Marrakech clientele, we sense a fear of contracting the virus… With the few local clients, it is therefore impossible for them to continue their activities. »

source:medias24