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Morocco admits flaws in social registry algorithm that risk denying aid to poor families
Morocco’s Budget Minister Fouzi Lekjaa has acknowledged serious technical errors in the digital system used to determine eligibility for social assistance, warning that the algorithm may unfairly exclude vulnerable households from receiving government support.
Speaking before the House of Representatives, Lekjaa admitted that the Unified Social Registry’s automated scoring mechanism has been producing distorted results. The algorithm evaluates family living conditions to decide who qualifies for direct aid, but certain everyday actions, such as topping up mobile credit or paying for internet services, can unintentionally inflate a household’s score and push it beyond the eligibility threshold.
How the algorithm evaluates households
The minister provided rare insights into how the registry functions. In urban areas, the system measures forty social and economic indicators to calculate each family’s score. In rural areas, it uses slightly fewer twenty-eight to reflect local living differences. Any household scoring above 9.74301 is automatically excluded from direct financial support and may instead fall into categories that must contribute to health insurance or other programs.
Lekjaa emphasized that this threshold system, designed to ensure fairness, still requires substantial adjustments. The government intends to revise the scoring criteria once it incorporates data from the 2024 national census. The goal is to prevent everyday expenses from misleading the algorithm into classifying families as ineligible despite their financial hardship.
A developing system
Describing the registry as an “open workshop,” Lekjaa stressed that the digital approach remains under development. He said the system must evolve continually to reflect real social conditions and ensure technological innovation serves justice and transparency. “Progress must benefit accuracy and fairness,” he declared.
While critics question the program’s reliability, the minister presented record figures for its reach. As of November, around 3.8 million Moroccan households equivalent to 42 percent of all families, have benefited from direct support, representing 12.6 million citizens and total allocations exceeding 27 billion dirhams (approximately $2.9 billion).
Replacing the old welfare model
Lekjaa defended the government’s technological shift from the traditional paper-based RAMED program, which relied on manual assessments prone to bias, to a data-driven system grounded in measurable indicators. He described the move as a “quiet revolution” in social governance, framing it as the foundation for a more transparent and adaptive welfare model.
However, he cautioned that this reform is only the starting point. The system must undergo continual refinement to meet its central purpose, ensuring that families in genuine need receive fair and timely assistance.
