When Billions Are Spent on Banquets… and the People Are Left Hungry!”
“When Billions Are Spent on Banquets… and the People Are Left Hungry!”
By: Mohamed Abdrahmane Abdallah – Journalist, Nouakchott
One Billion Ouguiyas… on Food and Drink!
This isn’t a figure from a novelist’s imagination — it’s a reality pulled straight from official spending records. According to government reports, the Prime Minister’s Office in Mauritania has spent over one billion old ouguiyas on catering in a short period — at a time when thousands of families are suffering from hunger, thirst, and a complete lack of opportunities.
In a country where citizens line up daily for water tankers, and poverty and unemployment rates are soaring, this figure is not just absurd — it’s a blatant insult to the dignity of a people struggling to survive… if they can.
When Hunger and Unemployment Meet Wasteful Spending
Public spending should reflect the state’s priorities. But when billions are funneled into luxurious meals and fine drinks in the offices of the ruling elite — while children in poor neighborhoods go to bed hungry — it’s not just corruption. It’s a dangerous detachment from reality and a disgraceful disregard for human suffering.
Did you know that this amount could provide full meals for over 50,000 poor families for two months? Or help rebuild dilapidated schools? Or equip health centers in villages where women still give birth on dirt floors?
Extravagance at the Top… Ruin at the Bottom
When did the Prime Minister’s Office become a luxury restaurant? What kind of “events” require such obscene amounts of food? Who were the guests? Who audited the bills?
These are legitimate questions from a people constantly told to “tighten their belts” while their tax money is wasted on indulgence.
Picture this:
In an air-conditioned hall, lined with imported dishes, government officials gather to “discuss poverty reduction” — while a boy on the outskirts of Nouakchott digs through a landfill, looking for scraps to eat.
No Accountability = No Limits to Abuse
The problem isn’t just the number — it’s the culture of impunity.
Those who fear no accountability will spend without restraint.
In the absence of transparency, numbers like these are buried in official reports without raising an eyebrow.
Our country needs hospitals, roads, and vocational centers — not million-ouguiya lunch parties and political feasts disguised as “government work.”
In the End… Who Pays the Price?
In every economic crisis, the ordinary citizen is asked to “be patient,” to “sacrifice,” to “understand the situation.”
But who will understand his pain when he sees his country’s wealth being wasted on tables where he is never invited?
Dignity doesn’t come through speeches — it comes through policies that respect people’s suffering and honor public funds.
That wasted billion isn’t just a number… it’s evidence of a growing divide between ruler and ruled.
