Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but authorities in 2011 did not enforce the law effectively, and officials often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Corrupt practices were widely believed to exist at all levels of government, and the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that corruption was a severe problem. Mauritania ranked 143 out of 183 countries in the 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International.
There were reports in 2011 that government officials frequently used their power to obtain such favors as unauthorized exemption from taxes, special grants of land, and preferential treatment during bidding on government projects. Corruption was most pervasive in government procurement, bank loans, fishing-license distribution, land distribution, and tax payments.
The Ministry of the Interior's Economic Crimes Brigade and the Office of the Inspector General were responsible in 2011 for investigating corruption. On 16 January, the Judiciary Council created the Criminal Division for Economic and Financial Crimes, a special chamber responsible for economic crimes, to reinforce the legal efforts against corruption. During the year, this body completed seven investigations resulting in the dismissal of several government officials.
Corruption and impunity were also serious problems in the police force in 2011, and the government rarely held security officials accountable or prosecuted them for abuses. Police regularly demanded bribes at nightly roadblocks in Nouakchott and at checkpoints between cities. There were numerous reports that police arbitrarily detained individuals for several hours or overnight at roadblocks in Nouakchott or other towns. According to these reports, police detained motorists or passengers without asking for identity papers or vehicle registration, and without searching the vehicles. Judicial corruption was also a problem.
In 2011, the government enforced the requirement that senior officials, including the President, file a declaration of their personal assets at the beginning and end of their service. Senior officials reportedly disclose their assets through an internal procedure, but the information is not released to the public.
The law provides for public access to government information, and the government granted such access to citizens and noncitizens, including foreign media, during 2011.
Read more about this topic: Human Rights In Mauritania
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