First post-election government formed in Mauritania

2007-05-01

Mauritanian Prime Minister Zeine Ould Zeidane has formed the country’s first cabinet since the election of President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdellahi.

By Mohamed Yahya Ould Abdel Wedoud for Magharebia in Nouakchott – 01/05/2007

[Getty Images] Zeine Ould Zeidane

Mauritania's newly-appointed Prime Minister Zeine Ould Zeidane announced the formation of his government on Saturday (April 28th), following a week of consultations with President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdellahi.

The 28-member cabinet includes Abderrahmane Ould Hamma Vezzaz, who previously worked for the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), as the new economy and finance minister. Mohamed El Moktar Ould Mohamed El Hacen, a World Bank specialist on extractive industries was named minister of oil and mines. Mauritania's extractive sector is a key portfolio as the country started oil production in 2006 and is a major exporter of iron ore. Former ambassador to Switzerland Mohamed Saleck Ould Mohamed Lemine is the country's new foreign minister, while Yall Zakaria took the post of interior minister. Reportedly, one of Zakaria's tasks will be overseeing the return of thousands of black Mauritanians expelled from the country between 1989 and 1991. Four ministerial posts, in particular water, energy, agriculture and livestock, and youth and sports were given to the People's Progressive Alliance (APP), the party of the new speaker of the national assembly Messaoud Ould Boulkheir, who supported Abdellahi in the presidential run-off.

Nouakchott residents expressed varying views regarding the selection of the cabinet members, but many displayed their desire for "a break with the distant past" in all of its aspects. "Our hope for this government, which we’ve awaited for two years, is considerable, as we hope it will curtail the unjustified increase in prices, create new job opportunities and combat administrative and financial corruption," said one resident in front of a government building in central Nouakchott.

"The most significant difficulty this government faces is [realising] the pledges the president made during and after the election campaign, including improving residents’ living conditions and continuing the policy of 'national consensus," University professor and independent politician Bikar Ould Asnib told Magharebia.

The electoral platform of President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdellahi rests on three pillars: strengthening national unity, combating corruption and creating an economic environment that helps alleviate poverty, in which 46% of the population live, according to 2007 UN statistics.

"I’m committed to radical political reforms in a calm and inquisitive way, and I won’t recreate the past," said the president in his April 19th inauguration speech at the Conference Palace in Nouakchott. "On the foreign level, our country will work to activate its role within its Arab, African and Islamic surroundings, and we will work alongside our neighbouring brethren for the sake of hastening the pace of cooperation and integration," he said, adding that Mauritania aspires for the Maghreb Union "to become a genuine framework for integration among Maghreb nations, fulfilling the aspirations of the region’s peoples".

In related news, the two chambers of the Mauritanian parliament selected their leadership, choosing Ba Mamadou M'Bare to lead the Senate and opposition figure Masoud Ould Boulkheir to head the National Assembly. In their acceptance speeches, M'Bare and Boulkheir pledged to promote parliament's role and make it "a pulpit for defending the interests of the people and the state". They also expressed their satisfaction with the atmosphere in which the session took place.