President of Republic: “The homeland we all want: a homeland where there is neither precariousness nor exclusion”

On 27 November, the President of the Republic, His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, addressed a message to the Nation on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of national independence in which he took stock of the first years of his term marked by laying the foundation stone for several projects and carrying out many others.
In this message, the President, who declared that he had been able to count on his citizens for the success of his vision for the future of the country, said he was counting on them today, once again, to translate it into a tangible reality in order to build together the homeland we all want: a homeland where there is neither precariousness nor exclusion, the homeland of freedom, dignity and global and sustainable development.

Here is the full text of that message:
“In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,
My dear fellow citizens,
Tomorrow we celebrate, together, the 61st anniversary of the National Independence Day, the feast of pride and glory.
The independence of our country was a decisive event in the history of our proud people, whose roots were planted by the heroes of our national resistance and watered with the blood of martyrs and the ink of fireflies, until that they produce freedom and sovereignty, under the auspices of a modern and independent state. For this, they have a permanent recognition and a renewed gratitude every 28 November.

This is the place for me to congratulate our armed and security forces for their gigantic efforts in defending the independence and sovereignty of the country and in preserving its security and stability. At the same time, I greet all the sons of our people who have contributed, generation after generation, to the liberation of our country and the establishment of the modern Mauritanian State, by embarking on the path of development and the growth.
The accomplishment of the sacrifices of all these obliges us to constantly strengthen our determination and our commitment in order to build a prosperous country based on comprehensive and sustainable development.

In this, we count, after Allah the Almighty, on our dear youth. Because it is you, young people, who are the beating heart of our nation and the pillar of its present and its future.
I am firmly convinced that the development of our country remains dependent on our ability to offer you quality education and effective vocational training, to promote your access to the labor market and your participation in decision-making at various levels.
Therefore, we will know how to make the most of your creative energies, as genuine actors in whom we have the hope of achieving our aspirations for progress and prosperity.

Dear compatriots,
During the past period, our efforts have focused on achieving social justice by combating poverty, precariousness, injustice, and exclusion, and on building comprehensive and sustainable development. In this regard, we have been able to accomplish many important achievements.
Admittedly, the pace of execution of certain projects is not satisfactory. It is also true that there are gaps and difficulties at certain levels. But we are aware of them, and we are working to correct them.

I promise you, once again, that with the help of Allah, what we have promised you will be accomplished, despite the exceptional circumstances in which we live, and which the world has been experiencing, for more than two years.

To this end, we will focus our attention on establishing good governance and combating all forms of corruption. Corruption, by its nature, undermines the pillars of development, by wasting state resources, preventing projects from achieving their goals, violating distributive wealth justice, and undermining the rule of law, which weakens the confidence of individuals in it, and profoundly affects the social fabric.

We do not want the fight against corruption to be just a slogan, or turn itself into corruption, through selectivity, settling of scores, and attacking the honor of people without presumption or proof. Rather, we want it to be an effective institutional work, by which the State’s resources are preserved, and the corrupters are sanctioned in accordance with the texts in force.

Thus, we will redouble our efforts to strengthen the independence of the judicial and legislative powers, modernize the public procurement code, and intensify the activity of the supervisory and control bodies, by sending their teams to all public establishments and ministerial sectors. We will address, immediately, and whenever necessary, the reports they issue, which will be followed up with immediate effect.

We will also continue to focus on the reform of the administration, because it is no longer acceptable that our administration is not closer to the citizen, more attentive to them, and more ready to respond to them and solve their problems. A citizen must be able to carry out his administrative procedures with flexibility and ease, obtain the clarifications they need, access their rights diligently and with dignity, solely because of his status as a citizen.

Dear citizens,

Over the past two years, we have worked tirelessly to provide social security coverage to vulnerable classes, through ambitious plans and programs, which we have constantly adapted to the evolving repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to strengthen the resilience of our citizens in the face of the pandemic.

Thus, for example, more than one million three hundred thousand people have benefited from direct food and financial support, and one hundred thousand families have been integrated into the direct cash transfer system. Likewise, more than two billion ouguiyas were distributed within the framework of the various operations of the Tekavoul program, in addition to the granting of comprehensive health insurance to one hundred thousand poor families, or about six hundred twenty thousand people.

At the same time, actions have been taken to protect the purchasing power of citizens in the face of the wave of rising prices. This increase is the result of factors that cannot be controlled or predicted, such as rising food prices and international transportation costs.

Despite this situation, we will continue to do everything possible to protect the purchasing power of citizens through regular supply to food stores, ensure market regulation, and prevent various forms of speculation and monopoly thanks to a recently established purchasing and supply central agency.

We are aware that food security is a decisive issue of sovereignty, and that it is inevitable for us to achieve self-sufficiency, at least in basic foodstuffs. As a result, more than six thousand hectares of agricultural areas have been recently developed and rehabilitated, and another seven thousand hectares are under development.

To these areas are added two thousand hectares already developed and fifteen thousand hectares under development by the private sector. Moreover, sixty dams and twenty-two water retention structures were built, six hundred and fifty-five linear kilometers of fencing completed, at a time when farmers received agricultural inputs, support was provided to farmers affected by hazards, and 1,500 plows were distributed. The oasis development program has continued, and more than eight thousand hectares dedicated to vegetable cultivation were developed.

We have also worked on the development of our livestock. In order to promote this sector, we created a ministerial department and launched vast programs to build animal vaccination parks, slaughterhouses, livestock markets, and dairy processing units, in order to integrate this important sector in the economic circuit and to develop its added value. We have also taken preventive measures to protect breeders from the negative repercussions of this year’s rainfall deficit on the vegetation cover.

In order to reduce youth unemployment, vocational training has been strengthened through the creation of new training institutions, the organization of numerous training courses, the creation of tens of thousands of jobs in the public and private sectors, and the financing of hundreds of projects for young people in the different wilayas, in addition to the launch of the second phase of an expanded program aimed at creating nine thousand jobs in partnership with the private sector. To strengthen women’s participation in working life and their inclusion in the economic cycle, numerous cooperatives and small businesses have been financed for the benefit of six thousand women, and five thousand plots of land have been allocated for the construction of social housing in the benefit of vulnerable families.


The pillar of development being in essence the promotion of human resources, we have set out to strengthen our education system by expanding the offer, raising the level of quality of education, and fundamentally improving the conditions of teachers. The creation of the National Council of Education and the launch of the consultation process on the reform of the education system were an important turning point in the framework of the reform to which we all aspire.

We have also worked to develop our health system and provide the vaccines needed to immunize our most vulnerable citizens. This has strengthened our capacity to cope with the pandemic and to care for the sick in an appropriate manner. Along with these actions, several major projects were launched to promote regular access by citizens to quality basic services, such as water and electricity.

During the past year, one hundred and forty-five water networks have been completed, two hundred and sixty-five artesian wells have been drilled, and one hundred and ninety-five wells have been fitted with solar-powered equipment.

These water installations cost around eleven billion old ouguiyas and have benefited four hundred and forty-seven villages in the various wilayas of the country.

Our country’s energy production and distribution system has also been improved thanks to the continuation of network extension work in around a hundred towns, and the construction of high-voltage lines to link Nouakchott to Nouadhibou, Nouakchott and Zouerate, Nouakchott with the sisterly Republic of Senegal, in addition to the low and medium voltage networks in the eastern and southern regions.

Work is underway to reorganize the Mauritanian Electricity Company to complete the separation between generation, transmission, distribution, and marketing functions, in a way that improves lighting programs and expands and intensifies networks in cities and rural areas.

All these achievements and others, which it would be tedious to quote here, were accomplished in a peaceful and responsible political atmosphere, which we were eager to ensure from the first moments, by opening ourselves to all spheres of our political and societal scene, and by exchanging with them on major national issues.

La préparation en cours du lancement d’une concertation nationale inclusive, dans laquelle personne n’est exclu, et aucun sujet n’est tabou, préfigure de l’ancrage progressif chez nous de la tradition d’ouverture et de concertation responsable, et comme une approche fondamentale de gestion des affaires publiques.

The ongoing preparation for the launch of an inclusive national consultation, from which no one is excluded, and no subject is taboo, foreshadows the progressive anchoring in our country of the tradition of openness and responsible consultation, and as a fundamental approach to the management of public affairs.
Dear compatriots,
Yesterday, I was able to count on you for the success of our vision for the future of this country, and you did not disappoint me. Today, I am counting on you, once again, to translate it into tangible reality, in order to build together the homeland we all want: a homeland where there is neither precariousness nor exclusion, the homeland of freedom, dignity, and global and sustainable development.

Long life to you
Long live Mauritania.
May the peace and mercy of Allah be upon you “.