Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani on Sunday appointed a new government after the names of some of his ministers appeared in a report on the financial dealings of former President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, reported The BBC.
President Ghazouani’s office acknowledged that the reshuffle was as a result of the controversial report on Aziz.
During a media briefing in the capital Nouakchott, Adama Bocar Soko, the secretary general of Mauritania’s presidency, said the move would give all those named in the report time to prove their innocence. The new government remains substantially similar to the previous one, however, with 18 former ministers reappointed.
Soko said that the number of ministries had also been reduced to 22, after some were fused.
The move comes after President Ghazouani announced a government reshuffle and replaced his prime minister on Thursday, for reasons that were not disclosed at the time. The names of ex-premier Ismail Ould Bedda Ould Cheikh Sidiya and three other ministers were mentioned in the report that looked into the sale of state properties and handling of oil revenue.
Local media reports that former President Aziz has been summoned in connection with the report. A nine-member parliamentary committee was set up in January to throw light on aspects of Aziz’s 2008-19 tenure. The committee is probing the handling of oil revenues, the sale of state-owned property in Nouakchott, and the liquidation of a state-owned food company.
Last week, Mauritanian prosecutors said that they had received the committee’s report and would open an inquiry. An investigation is expected to begin before parliament votes on whether to proceed to trial.
Last week, President Ghazouani named veteran public administrator Mohamed Ould Bilal as Mauritania’s new prime minister. Bilal has previously served as the head of the country’s national water agency, a presidential aide, and a cabinet minister.
