The results of the 2025 Open Budget Survey have revealed a troubling picture of public financial management in Mauritania. The findings indicate that citizens remain largely excluded from financial decision-making processes and that oversight and accountability mechanisms have yet to reach a level capable of safeguarding public resources and strengthening trust between the state and society.
While the authorities continue to announce ambitious development projects and programs, the international survey results confirm that citizen participation in determining the state’s financial priorities remains virtually nonexistent. Mauritania scored zero points on the Public Participation Index, a result that effectively means citizens lack meaningful institutional channels through which they can influence budget decisions that directly affect their daily lives.
This is not merely a statistic in an international report; it is an indicator of a genuine gap between policymakers and society. Development should not be measured solely by the volume of financial allocations announced, but also by the extent to which citizens participate in determining spending priorities and monitoring implementation.
In the area of oversight and accountability, Mauritania scored 39 out of 100 points. This assessment highlights the continued weakness of certain oversight institutions and delays in the publication of key financial reports. It also raises legitimate questions about the ability of supervisory bodies and Parliament to effectively monitor budget implementation and identify shortcomings or potential waste in the use of public resources.
Regarding fiscal transparency, although Mauritania scored 42 points—surpassing the average of some countries in the region—this result remains well below international standards. Transparency is not merely the partial publication of documents; it requires making complete financial information available in a timely manner and in a format that allows citizens, researchers, and the media to access and analyze it.
The significance of these findings lies in the fact that they stem from an independent international assessment that relies neither on official rhetoric nor government promises, but on rigorous technical criteria measuring what is actually published and accessible to the public. Consequently, the recorded scores provide a clear indication of the work still required to strengthen financial governance and entrench the principles of transparency and accountability.
It is true that since 2024 the authorities have begun organizing field consultations and listening to citizens’ concerns. However, the success of these initiatives will depend on their transformation into permanent institutional mechanisms that ensure genuine participation in the budget preparation process, rather than temporary consultations that may not necessarily influence final fiscal policies.
The real challenge is not simply to improve Mauritania’s ranking in international reports, but to build a financial governance system that makes citizens genuine partners in decision-making, provides effective oversight of public spending, and guarantees the full and regular disclosure of financial information. Without such reforms, transparency will remain more of a slogan than a practice, and accountability will continue to have limited impact regardless of the number of promises and official announcements
