It took just twenty-four hours. On Friday, October 9, Mauritanian Prime Minister Mokhtar Ould Diay handed his government’s resignation to President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani. A few hours later, the head of state reappointed him by decree and asked him to form a new team. The lineup was unveiled on Saturday evening at the presidential palace in Nouakchott.
The timing was no coincidence. The day before, on October 8, the president had received the report of the independent commission investigating fires at two electrical substations in the capital. The blazes, which broke out on August 21 and 22 at facilities run by the national power company Somelec in Nouakchott-Nord and Nouakchott-Ouest, left many neighbourhoods in the dark. The outages lasted several days and disrupted essential services.
The commission’s findings are damning. It links both fires directly to new 33 kV connections that had been energised on August 15 and 20. It also points to failings in how the project was monitored, how the cables’ technical specifications were approved, and how they were accepted and brought into service. President Ghazouani has called for its recommendations to be applied in full, including administrative sanctions and legal action against any breach of the law, and ordered the report to be made public.
The issue had become politically charged. As early as September, the opposition coalition questioned the commission’s independence, noting that civil society had been left out, and demanded compensation for residents. A month after the fires, several parts of Nouakchott were again facing power cuts: in Carrefour, Arafat and Tensoueilem, some residents went more than a day without electricity, while the city centre was losing power for around eight hours a day.
The new cabinet has 29 ministers, up from 25, including eight women. Twelve former ministers are out, and six others have been given new portfolios. Unsurprisingly, the Energy and Petroleum ministry has changed hands, with Mohamed Ould Abdel Vetah replacing Mohamed Ould Khaled, who had held the post since 2024.
Other changes affect key sovereign ministries. Ba Ousmane takes over Defence from Hanena Ould Sidi, while Moctar Ahmed Bousseif inherits the Interior ministry, previously led by Mohamed Ahmed Ould Mohamed Lemine. Health, Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Fisheries also have new heads. Elsewhere, continuity prevails: Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug remains Foreign Minister, Mohamed Ould Soueidatt keeps Justice, and the Finance Minister also stays in place.
The presidency has set out the new team’s priorities. It is expected to carry on with the president’s programme, strengthen social protection for low-income citizens and promote development in towns and regions outside the capital. Appointed on August 2, 2024, after El Ghazouani won a second term, Mokhtar Ould Diay must now show that this reshuffle is enough to restore public trust, starting with the residents of Nouakchott who have been left without power.