Change in the Government of Mauritania amidst accusations of corruption

900 pages of a report by the Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CEP) detail in detail how members of the Mauritanian government have allegedly carried out cases of corruption ranging from irregular contracts with Chinese companies, to the management of oil revenues, to the sale of public land. Among the dismissed ministers are Petroleum Minister Mohamed Ould Abdel Vettah and Fisheries Minister Nanci Ould Chrougha, who are accused, along with resigned Prime Minister Ismael Bedde Cheikh Sidiya, of corruption and mismanagement.

The document, prepared by a parliamentary committee of inquiry, was composed of eight MPs and details up to 12 cases of alleged corruption. It consisted of 150 sessions in which three former prime ministers, 18 directors of state-owned companies and a large number of senior government officials were questioned. All these criminal activities took place during the presidency of Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz (2008-2019), who was summoned to testify but refused to intervene.

In January, a parliamentary committee was set up to look into the more murky aspects of Abdel Aziz's mandate. The report also includes presidential secretary general Adama Bocar Soko. The President of Mauritania since 2019, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, appointed a new government on Sunday, after the publication of this report. Ghazouani announced a reorganization of the government and will replace its prime minister on Thursday, for reasons that have not yet been revealed.

Aziz first came to power in Mauritania with a military coup in 2008 and then won the presidential elections in 2009 and again in 2014. The West African state, which has traditionally been shaken by a history of military coups and uprisings, experienced its first peaceful transfer of power between elected leaders on August 1, 2019, when former army general Ghazouani, who had been chief of staff and defense minister, became president.