Prime Minister Mokhtar Ould Djay has said that indicators show Mauritania making progress in fighting corruption, reviewing a series of measures taken by the government to strengthen transparency and entrench the principles of accountability, as well as steps taken to deal with economic crises and their impact on citizens.
Speaking before the National Assembly, Ould Djay said the government had passed laws, granted independence to the institutions concerned and required officials to declare their assets, noting that only 25 MPs had declared their assets.
He added that the government had worked to strengthen transparency in public tenders, pointing out that more than 300 people are currently working under tender procedures he described as transparent, in addition to holding competitions in the field of digitalisation. He said the authorities had referred officials to the courts after their names appeared in indictment files, before they were cleared and returned to their posts.
The prime minister acknowledged that corruption exists in the country and in the administration, describing it as a serious scourge, and stressed that recognising its existence does not negate what he said were steps achieved in fighting it.
