Photo via arabnews.com
Mauritanian PM resigns, then is reappointed same day to form new government
Prime Minister Mokhtar Ould Djay stepped down Friday over management failures linked to August fires at power facilities, then was reappointed hours later by President Ghazouani.
What happened
Mauritania's Prime Minister Mokhtar Ould Djay submitted his government's resignation on Friday following a damning independent commission report on two transformer substation fires in August. The fires, which struck Somelec facilities in Nouakchott on August 21 and 22, caused widespread blackouts lasting three to five days across the capital and surrounding towns. The investigation identified serious shortcomings in prevention, electrical protection, work supervision, and emergency management, linked to three newly installed power transmission lines.
Overheating was determined the likely cause; sabotage and operational error were ruled out. Hours after his resignation, Ghazouani reappointed Djay as prime minister and tasked him with forming a new government. The move suggests the president views the crisis as one of institutional failure and oversight rather than loss of confidence in Djay's political standing. Djay had served as prime minister for more than two years, since August 2024.
Chanakya's Move
Ghazouani's move was strategic: by accepting the resignation symbolically but reappointing Djay immediately, he acknowledged the gravity of institutional failure without sacrificing political continuity. This is common in systems where accountability is performed through ritual resignation rather than replacement. Djay remains the most politically trusted figure, at least among those in the presidential circle, so the president kept him in place to execute repairs. The real test is whether the new cabinet actually implements the commission's recommendations—placing orders for compliant cables, restructuring Somelec's management, and establishing oversight mechanisms. If blackouts recur, Ghazouani cannot use the same playbook twice; failure to fix the infrastructure after this crisis will signal regime incompetence.