Amazigh in the 2027 Finance Act: A 2 billion DH autonomous fund

The draft finance bill for 2027 puts the officialization of the Amazigh language back at the forefront through a government plan aimed at embedding its presence within public services and institutions. This roadmap also aims to expand its use in administrative communication, digital services, and signage, while supporting its integration into the education system, the media, and the cultural and legislative fields.

According to the bill’s introductory note, the plan is backed by a budget of nearly two billion dirhams for the 2027–2031 period. It fulfills constitutional requirements, recommendations from the New Development Model report, and executive commitments, implemented in coordination and partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Regarding the 2026 review, measures included drafting 26 sectoral plans and providing support to eight requesting public institutions, alongside training 120 civil servants in Amazigh administrative terminology and communication. A roadmap was also drawn up to integrate the Amazigh language into official websites, while launching a program to introduce it into literacy classes.

In institutional communication, the note details the inventorying and scheduling of legislative and regulatory texts to be translated into the Amazigh language, as well as the compilation of a glossary of administrative terms. Furthermore, simultaneous interpretation was provided during plenary sessions of both houses of Parliament and the government spokesperson’s weekly press briefings, alongside launching translations of digital and institutional content across several ministries and public entities.

Regarding signage and visual identity, the integration of Amazigh continues across local authority road signs and visual media for various ministries and institutions. This initiative has also extended to the public service vehicle fleet, with the Amazigh language now displayed on 403 National Police vehicles and 512 vehicles from the Health and Social Protection sector.

In education and culture, data shows the creation, in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education, of a digital distance learning platform in the Amazigh language for students. Financial support was also granted to civil society associations to organize Amazigh cultural events, particularly for Amazigh New Year celebrations.

Action priorities for 2027 focus on completing ongoing projects and launching new initiatives. These include establishing a charter to integrate the Amazigh language into online news platforms and monitoring content translation, as well as expanding its use across directional tools and signage in public administrations and local authorities.

The executive’s projects also plan for the introduction of the Amazigh language across public transport networks and various public service vehicles—such as ambulances, school buses, and hearses—as well as major vital infrastructure including bus stations, airports, ports, and the highway network.

In terms of training, official guidelines focus on building a pool of qualified internal trainers to sustain ongoing professional development and the transfer of linguistic skills within ministerial departments and public institutions. Administrations will also receive guidance to organize specialized sessions in oral and written administrative communication in Amazigh. This framework will rely on agreements with university and training institutions, including the King Fahd Higher School of Translation in Tangier, Al Akhawayn University, the Training Center for Education Inspectors, the National Institute of Court Clerks and Legal Professions, and the Higher Institutes of Nursing Professions and Health Techniques.

Upcoming programs also plan to support ministerial departments that have experienced delays in finalizing their sectoral plans for officializing Amazigh, while supporting a pilot project targeting 40 local authorities ahead of its national rollout. In addition, reference guides and legal and administrative glossaries in Amazigh will be published.

On the legislative front, the government intends to develop a legal lexicon in collaboration with the General Secretariat of the Government, while assisting it with the translation of a body of legislative and regulatory texts into Amazigh. Meanwhile, the presence of the language will be strengthened across education, training, media and communication, artistic and cultural creation, and parliamentary work.

In a step presented in the note as a catalyst to accelerate the implementation of Organic Law 26-16, an independent fund dedicated to supporting the use of Amazigh is slated for creation in 2027, separating this mandate from the Fund for Administrative Modernization, Digital Transition, and the Use of Amazigh. This mechanism will be complemented by the activation of the permanent ministerial commission under the Head of Government, responsible for monitoring and evaluating the officialization process.

These measures align with the ongoing integration of the Amazigh language into administration, public services, and public spaces through translation, training, communication, signage, and digital services, in line with priorities set out in the introductory note to the 2027 draft finance bill.

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