On 22 October, the Moroccan Economy and Finance Minister, Mohamed Benchaaboun, presented the 2019 budget draft to the Parliament. According to the draft, the government would support young entrepreneurs by cancelling their debts owed to the State if the overall or the remaining amount was less than $5000. The measure would help young entrepreneurs overcome conjenctural difficulties, support youth entrepreneurship, social businesses and self-employment initiatives. If approved by the parliament, the 2019 budget would also increase funding for the creation of 40.248 jobs in the public sector and would allocate $6.8 billion to education, $1.6 billion to health care and $1.7 billion to subsidies for wheat, cooking gas and sugar to support the local purchasing power and reduce social disparities. The Moroccan government declared its intention to launch a new privatisation programme, encourage investments and reduce budget deficit to 3.3% of GDP in 2019. In August, King Mohammed VI called for the establishment of a new development model that would close the social and economic gaps, while focusing on youth employment, education and training.