Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09NOUAKCHOTT514
2009-08-13 12:58:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Nouakchott
Cable title:
AZIZ' NEW GOVERNMENT "NOT BAD"
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 03 NOUAKCHOTT 000514
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/12/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM MR
SUBJECT: AZIZ' NEW GOVERNMENT "NOT BAD"
***********************
* Missing Section 001 *
***********************
NOUAKCHOTT 00000514 002.2 OF 003
5. (C) A TEMPORARY GOVERNMENT: Many suspect this
government is not a permanent one. They expect Aziz will
appoint new ministers in the next two years, particularly as
his political party UPR becomes stronger. LES believe that
once the party becomes more established; the government will
be more representative of the party.
6. (C) NEW FACES WITH TIES TO THE OLD GUARD: Most of the
appointees are new figures; individuals who had never
previously been ministers. Even the nine ministers that were
reappointed only started serving as ministers during the
period following the coup. In this respect, Aziz fulfilled
his promise of excluding the old political elite.
Nevertheless, LES highlighted that "some of the faces are not
so new" as they have close ties to old political figures.
Foreign Minister Naha Mint Mouknass' father, for example, was
an influential foreign minister and diplomat under Maaouiya
Ould Taya. LES identified two kinds of appointees: the
political ones, like Mint Mouknass, and the technocrats like
the Minister of the Interior who knows the ministry well and
has served as wali in numerous occasions. Other political
appointees include Minister of Health Cheikh El Moctar Ould
Horma Ould Babana (whose father, the first Mauritanian deputy
to the French National Assembly, had close ties to Morocco);
Minister of Elementary Education Ahmedou Ould Idey Ould
Mohamed Radhi (from the Assaba Ehel Sidi Mahmoud tribe with
considerable political and electoral weight); Minister
Secretary General to the Presidency Sy Adama (a Puular from
the Gorgol, an important electoral region); Cisse Mint Cheikh
Ould Boyde (whose father, a colonel from the important Ould
Daoud tribe, was part of the junta following the '68 coup);
and Minister Counselor to the Presidency Messaouda Mint
Baham, who represents the Laglal tribe from Hodh El Gharbi
and whose mother is from the important Trarza region.
7. (C) TRIBAL LANDSCAPE: There are no members of Aziz'
Ouled Bisbaa tribe among those nominated (with his cousin,
the former Foreign Minister now leaving the government) and
only one member of Aziz's rival Idawalli tribe. In the past,
Idawalli was widely represented in the government but on this
election decided to support Messaoud Ould Boulkheir,
therefore excluding itself from the government. There are no
members of Ould Taya's Smasside tribe, who are being punished
for actively supporting Ahmed Ould Daddah.
8. (C) COMPETENT APPOINTMENTS: LES concurred that for the
most part, those appointed are skilled and untainted by
accusations of past corruption, particularly the Finance,
Petroleum, and Mines ministers. Minister of Finance Kane
Ousmane, for example, was Governor of the Central Bank under
Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and did an extraordinary job.
Others deemed particularly competent include Minister of
Justice Baha Ould Ameida, Secretary General of the Government
Ba Ousmane, Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister in charge
of the Environment and Development Diarra Idrissa and Deputy
Minister to the Prime Minister in Charge of Modernization
Wagne Abdoulaye Drissa. The choice of Minister of Secondary
and Superior Education Ahmed Ould Baya was criticized as well
as that of Minister of Health Babana, who is known for his
strong opinions and his anti-Americanism. The Minister of
Defense, as usual, is someone relatively weak with no
military background. Most of his government experience has
been acquired in the Ministry of the Interior.
9. (C) COMMENT: Aziz' new government gets at least a "Not
Bad" rating. He has named persons seen as technocratically
adept albeit somewhat inexperienced in governance (almost a
pre-requisite in finding someone who has no history of past
alleged corruption). In some ways, the government is
reminiscent of President Abdallahi's first technocratic
government under Prime Minister Zein Zeidane. That
government failed to implement its very good policy ideas
into practice because they lacked the political street smarts
to work the bureaucracy. We will have to wait and see if the
new ministers will translate solid resumes into good policy,
but the Aziz government does have more street smarts than
Abdallahi's (the evidence of which we saw in many unfortunate
ways over the past year). End Comment
10. (SBU) MORE TO COME: Ambassador will begin courtesy calls
NOUAKCHOTT 00000514 003.2 OF 003
on the new government over the coming weeks. In additional
bio reporting on the new ministers, Post anticipates
producing cables on the Security team, Economic team, and
Social/Humanitarian team.
BOULWARE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/12/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM MR
SUBJECT: AZIZ' NEW GOVERNMENT "NOT BAD"
***********************
* Missing Section 001 *
***********************
NOUAKCHOTT 00000514 002.2 OF 003
5. (C) A TEMPORARY GOVERNMENT: Many suspect this
government is not a permanent one. They expect Aziz will
appoint new ministers in the next two years, particularly as
his political party UPR becomes stronger. LES believe that
once the party becomes more established; the government will
be more representative of the party.
6. (C) NEW FACES WITH TIES TO THE OLD GUARD: Most of the
appointees are new figures; individuals who had never
previously been ministers. Even the nine ministers that were
reappointed only started serving as ministers during the
period following the coup. In this respect, Aziz fulfilled
his promise of excluding the old political elite.
Nevertheless, LES highlighted that "some of the faces are not
so new" as they have close ties to old political figures.
Foreign Minister Naha Mint Mouknass' father, for example, was
an influential foreign minister and diplomat under Maaouiya
Ould Taya. LES identified two kinds of appointees: the
political ones, like Mint Mouknass, and the technocrats like
the Minister of the Interior who knows the ministry well and
has served as wali in numerous occasions. Other political
appointees include Minister of Health Cheikh El Moctar Ould
Horma Ould Babana (whose father, the first Mauritanian deputy
to the French National Assembly, had close ties to Morocco);
Minister of Elementary Education Ahmedou Ould Idey Ould
Mohamed Radhi (from the Assaba Ehel Sidi Mahmoud tribe with
considerable political and electoral weight); Minister
Secretary General to the Presidency Sy Adama (a Puular from
the Gorgol, an important electoral region); Cisse Mint Cheikh
Ould Boyde (whose father, a colonel from the important Ould
Daoud tribe, was part of the junta following the '68 coup);
and Minister Counselor to the Presidency Messaouda Mint
Baham, who represents the Laglal tribe from Hodh El Gharbi
and whose mother is from the important Trarza region.
7. (C) TRIBAL LANDSCAPE: There are no members of Aziz'
Ouled Bisbaa tribe among those nominated (with his cousin,
the former Foreign Minister now leaving the government) and
only one member of Aziz's rival Idawalli tribe. In the past,
Idawalli was widely represented in the government but on this
election decided to support Messaoud Ould Boulkheir,
therefore excluding itself from the government. There are no
members of Ould Taya's Smasside tribe, who are being punished
for actively supporting Ahmed Ould Daddah.
8. (C) COMPETENT APPOINTMENTS: LES concurred that for the
most part, those appointed are skilled and untainted by
accusations of past corruption, particularly the Finance,
Petroleum, and Mines ministers. Minister of Finance Kane
Ousmane, for example, was Governor of the Central Bank under
Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and did an extraordinary job.
Others deemed particularly competent include Minister of
Justice Baha Ould Ameida, Secretary General of the Government
Ba Ousmane, Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister in charge
of the Environment and Development Diarra Idrissa and Deputy
Minister to the Prime Minister in Charge of Modernization
Wagne Abdoulaye Drissa. The choice of Minister of Secondary
and Superior Education Ahmed Ould Baya was criticized as well
as that of Minister of Health Babana, who is known for his
strong opinions and his anti-Americanism. The Minister of
Defense, as usual, is someone relatively weak with no
military background. Most of his government experience has
been acquired in the Ministry of the Interior.
9. (C) COMMENT: Aziz' new government gets at least a "Not
Bad" rating. He has named persons seen as technocratically
adept albeit somewhat inexperienced in governance (almost a
pre-requisite in finding someone who has no history of past
alleged corruption). In some ways, the government is
reminiscent of President Abdallahi's first technocratic
government under Prime Minister Zein Zeidane. That
government failed to implement its very good policy ideas
into practice because they lacked the political street smarts
to work the bureaucracy. We will have to wait and see if the
new ministers will translate solid resumes into good policy,
but the Aziz government does have more street smarts than
Abdallahi's (the evidence of which we saw in many unfortunate
ways over the past year). End Comment
10. (SBU) MORE TO COME: Ambassador will begin courtesy calls
NOUAKCHOTT 00000514 003.2 OF 003
on the new government over the coming weeks. In additional
bio reporting on the new ministers, Post anticipates
producing cables on the Security team, Economic team, and
Social/Humanitarian team.
BOULWARE