The Capital of Filth: How Nouakchott Turned into an Open Dump
By Mohamed Abdarahman Ould Abdallah, Journalist and Writer, Nouakchott
Nouakchott is no longer just a capital overwhelmed by haphazard urban growth; in the eyes of many of its residents, it has become a space that drives away beauty, constantly hosting trash, waste, stagnant water, and open garbage dumps in plain sight. A city that is supposed to be the country’s showcase instead reflects a reality of chaos, mismanagement, and the absence of urban vision.
● A city without cleanliness… and without dignity
In most neighborhoods of Nouakchott, garbage piles up at street corners, in front of houses, and around schools and health centers. Torn plastic bags, food leftovers, construction debris, and stagnant water gradually turn into breeding grounds for disease and foul odors.
Although garbage trucks occasionally pass through, the process remains seasonal and selective, not part of a regular system or comprehensive plan. This keeps the city trapped in a vicious cycle: temporary cleaning followed by constant pollution.
● Urban backwardness in an era of smart capitals
While many African capitals race to modernize their infrastructure and improve their environmental and urban image, Nouakchott seems out of time. Pothole-ridden streets, broken or non-existent sidewalks, absence of real green spaces, and a near-total lack of equipped public parks mark the city’s landscape.
This backwardness is not merely a matter of resources; it is primarily a crisis of urban management and the absence of political will to prioritize the city at a national level.
● Marginalized neighborhoods… second-class citizens
In Nouakchott, two cities coexist in one:
Neighborhoods with minimal access to services,
Vast areas living outside coverage: no sanitation, insufficient lighting, and irregular cleaning services.
This disparity does not only create an urban gap but deepens the sense of social exclusion, turning poverty from an economic condition into a permanent spatial reality. Citizens are born into marginalized neighborhoods and often die there without seeing tangible improvements in their lives.
● Who is responsible?
The deterioration of Nouakchott cannot be left vague or generalized. Responsibility is shared among:
Municipal authorities, which have failed to enforce an effective system for cleanliness and waste management,
Government sectors responsible for urban planning and the environment,
Weak oversight of cleaning companies, if they exist,
The absence of citizen participation in urban policies based on awareness and accountability.
Blaming citizens alone for littering oversimplifies the issue; individual behavior develops within a system of absent or failed services. One cannot demand civic behavior in an uncivic environment.
Nouakchott’s
backwardness… the result of poor choices
The current state of the capital is not fate but the outcome of years of poor planning, accumulated neglect, and sidelining the city in public policy priorities. The city could become a livable space if a real plan were implemented, including:
A permanent waste management system,
Rehabilitation of streets and sidewalks,
Creation of green spaces and urban recreational areas,
Enforcement of laws against violations and chaotic construction,
Linking urban policies to actual accountability of local officials.
Today, Nouakchott is not only one of the most fragile African capitals in terms of infrastructure and services but also a mirror of a deeper crisis in public administration. If the capital continues to be treated as an administrative burden rather than a national project, it will remain a city that produces more trash than hope and projects an image of backwardness rather than reflecting the ambition of a state seeking its place in the 21st century.
