Madar (Nouakchott) - President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani said the state had contracted a foreign company with experience and modern equipment to keep the capital clean, but that its performance had not yet reached the required standard. He was speaking on the evening of Thursday, 5 November 2026, at a meeting with officials and notables of Nouakchott South region, according to the Mauritanian News Agency (AMI).
He said both the authorities and citizens were entitled to demand better cleanliness befitting the capital, but stressed that the best companies and the latest equipment would not be enough unless residents kept public spaces clean.
On Sunday, 1 November, the interior minister ordered that the equipment of ARMA, the company in charge of cleaning, be placed under the authority of Nouakchott's three governors.
Ghazouani said the visit was part of his direct contact with citizens, and that his tours of the country's regions also covered Nouakchott's three regions, since living in the capital did not deprive residents of the right to be heard.
He reviewed the first phase of the emergency programme for the capital's development in the region: 218 classrooms built and 409 rehabilitated, 10 health centres, 28.5 km of paved roads, 35.5 km of street lighting and a multi-sports hall.
The second phase includes 187 classrooms, two kindergartens, a centre for children with disabilities, health facilities, expanded water networks and 54 km of street lighting, while work has begun on paving 27.5 km of new roads.
According to AMI, participants' demands focused on education and health, including bringing health services closer to residents, building schools, easing classroom overcrowding and improving roads. The president said meeting all of them at once depended on available means, and that work would continue step by step.
He pledged to rationalise the country's resources and manage them with integrity and transparency, free from corruption and arbitrariness, saying they could be used better at a reasonable pace, without haste.
Nouakchott, as the capital and the country's showcase, deserves special attention, he said, adding that the approach covers all of its districts, not only Nouakchott South. He promised continued efforts on water supply, health facilities closer to residents, roads extended to the outskirts and more specialist doctors in hospitals.
Several ministers, the head of the Taazour social agency and the food security commissioner presented their sectors' achievements and plans for the region, in the presence of the governor of Nouakchott South, the president of the Nouakchott regional council, prefects, mayors and MPs.
