Law No. 2025 002 on state owned bodies and enterprisesdefines precisely what a public company is in Mauritania.

The following are considered to be state owned bodies and enterprises , within the meaning of this law:

1. Public establishments, which have legal personality and financial autonomy, created to carry out public service or general interest missions. The law distinguishes between several categories (public administrative, industrial and commercial establishments, health establishments, educational establishments, etc.), with legal and financial regimes adapted to their missions.

2. Publiclyowned companies, which include:

• Crown corporations (the Crown owns 100% of the capital);
• semi-public companies (capital shared between the State and private partners or other public entities);
• certain companies with minority public participation , when the public share exceeds a threshold defined by law.

The law also specifies key concepts such as:

• the State's shareholding policy (the reasons for the State's presence in the capital, the strategic sectors, the objectives pursued);
• dividend policy (the rules for distributing the profits of public companies);
• public service obligations (specific missions entrusted to certain companies and which may be compensated by subsidies);
• restructuring rules (merger, division, transformation, dissolution, liquidation).

The Central Bank of Mauritania is explicitly excluded from the scope of this law, due to its specific status.

A public institution:

• is a legal person governed by public law;
• mainly carries out public serviceor general interest missions (education, health, training, research, social services, etc.);
• has a certain autonomy of management, but remains subject to rules of public law (State control, specific budgetary and accounting regimes).

A publicly owned company:

• is a legal person governed by private law, subject mainly to commercial law;
• carries out activities that are often market-based (production, sale of goods and services, operation of infrastructure, etc.);
• has capital held in whole or in part by the State or other public entities, with specific obligations of governance and transparency.

State-owned companies apply modern accounting standards (in particular IFRS for large entities) and are subject to audit according to ISA standards, in accordance with Law 2025 002.

No. The Central Bank of Mauritania is not considered a public company within the meaning of Law No. 2025 002. It has a specific status and is governed by specific texts. It does not fall within the scope of the financial supervision exercised by the DGTF over state owned bodies and enterprises .

The State's shareholding policy is the strategic framework through which the State:

• defines the reasons for its presence in the capital of certain companies (sovereignty, energy security, public service missions, strategic sectors, etc.);
• specifies in which sectors it wishes to remain, strengthen or, on the contrary, gradually disengage;
• sets the overall objectives that it assigns to its portfolio (profitability, investment, employment, quality of service, innovation, regional impact, etc.);
• provides a framework for monitoring procedures (indicators, programme contracts, reports) and, where appropriate, the conditions for partial or total privatisation.

Law 2025 002 provides that this shareholder policy is adopted by decree and reviewed regularly (e.g. every five years) in order to adjust the public portfolio to national priorities.

  The Directorate General of Financial Supervision (DGTF) exercises financial supervision of the State, while the sectoral ministries exercise technical/sectoral supervision.

The DGTF:

• monitors the economic and financial situation of companies and public institutions (budgets, accounts, investments, debts, subsidies, dividends);
• implements Law 2025 002 with regard to financial governance, accounting standardisation and control mechanisms;
• gives opinions on budgets, investment plans, loans, guarantees, restructuring;
• develops and monitors cross-cutting policies (shareholder policy, dividend policy, programme contracts);
• produces consolidated analyses and reports, including the annual report on state owned bodies and enterprises annexed to the Finance Act.

The sectoral ministries:

• define and implement sectoral public policies (energy, mining, transport, water, health, education, etc.);
• exercise technical supervision over companies in their sector (missions, public service objectives, technical and quality standards);
• ensure sectoral dialogue with these companies.

The DGTF therefore ensures financial and budgetary coherence, while the sectoral ministries ensure technical and operational coherence. Major decisions (creation, restructuring, merger, partial privatization, etc.) are taken at the level of the Government, on the basis of the analyses of the DGTF and the ministries concerned.

  

Several categories of reports are available:

1. Statutory auditors' reports

• They present the external auditors' opinion on the financial statements (reliability, regularity, potential qualifications).
• They are accessible, where provided for by law or practice:
• on the DGTF website (Documentation > Auditors' Reports);
• on the websites of the companies concerned.

2. Annual reports on state owned bodies and enterprises

• Consolidated reports produced by the Ministry of Finance and the DGTF on the economic and financial situation of the public portfolio.
• An annual report to Parliament on state owned bodies and enterprises is annexed to the Finance Act, in accordance with Law 2025 002.
• They are published on:
• the website of the Ministry of Finance (Publications section );
• the DGTF website (Documentation > Publications).

3. Studies, notes and guides

• Sector analyses, debt notes, comparative studies, governance guides, accounting frameworks, etc.
• Available via the Documentation section of the DGTF website. The DGTF website will offer a search engine and filters by year, type of document and entity to facilitate access.

The DGTF may publish:

• presentation sheets of companies and public establishments (mission, sector, status, supervision, main figures);
• summary tables extracted from the Finance Laws (subsidies, BCI, capital injections, dividends);
• consolidated reports (economic and financial situation of the portfolio, overall performance);
• thematic studies and notes;
• Governance and accounting standard-setting guides Some more sensitive information (detailed risk analysis, internal assessments, restructuring scenarios) may remain confidential.

Yes, within certain limits:

• The DGTF website will provide standardised information for each entity (fact sheet, public documents available).
• A contact form will allow you to submit questions or requests for information.

Access to additional information is governed by:

• national legislation on transparency and access to information ;
• the protection of protected data and secrets (trade secrets, financial stability, etc.).

Some requests may be redirected to:

• the public company concerned;
• the Ministry of Finance;
• other competent authorities.

In the Finance Act, subsidies and grants to state owned bodies and enterprises cover:

1. Operating subsidies

• o Amounts paid to cover operating expenses related to public service missions:
• social tariffs or tariffs below the real cost;
• obligation to serve unprofitable areas; § continuity of service under special conditions.

2. Capital endowments

• State contributions to the capital or quasi-equity of companies:
• to strengthen their solvency; § to finance heavy investments;
• to support restructuring operations.

3. Financing via the Consolidated Investment Budget (BCI)

• Infrastructure or investment projects implemented by state owned bodies and enterprises (power plants, roads, ports, hydraulic structures, hospitals, universities, etc.).

The DGTF analyses these flows to ensure that they are justified, sustainable and aligned with national priorities.

The OFM's investments are tracked:

• by the Ministry of Finance (commitments, payments, implementation rates);
• by sectoral ministries (physical advancement, quality, relevance of projects);
• by the DGTF, which assesses:
• consistency with business strategies;
• the sustainability of the associated debt;
• the impact on performance and service delivery.

This information feeds into the annual reports and performance analyses conducted by the DGTF.

Dividends result from:

• the resultsof public companies;
• the dividend policy set by the State, which determines the acceptable level of distribution:

They are used to:

• to feed the State budget (non-tax revenues);
• contribute to the financing of public policies.

The DGTF analyses the situation of each company to balance:

• medium-term investment needs;
• the need to contribute to the State budget;

• Financial strength of the company.

  

Law 2025 002 and associated texts provide for administrative, civil and criminal penalties in the event of mismanagement or serious breaches:

1. Leaders and managers

• Dismissal, prohibition from holding certain positions, civil and criminal proceedings in the event of:
• failure to comply with the deadlines for the production of accounts;
• unauthorized financial commitments;
• obstruction of controls;
• falsification or concealment of information;
• embezzlement, corruption, etc.

2. Administrators/Members of Legislative Bodies

• Dismissal, removal from the lists of suitable candidates, ineligibility, civil and criminal liability in the event of serious breaches (conflicts of interest, misuse of company assets, approval of operations contrary to the interests of the company or the State).

3. Statutory auditors

• Disciplinary, civil and possibly criminal sanctions in the event of complacency, gross negligence or complicity in fraud.

4. Specific criminal sanctions

• Repression of:
• the appropriation of public property or funds;
• falsification of accounts;
• insider trading;
• acts of corruption and the like.

5. Institutional measures

• Suspension or dissolution of the Board of Directors;
• reinforced supervision; o restructuring or even liquidation procedures.

The DGTF is not a court, but it plays a key role in detecting and escalating cases of mismanagement to the competent authorities.

The control is plural:

• Internal control: within the company (internal audit, management control);

• Statutory auditors: independent external auditors, applying ISAs;

• DGTF / Ministry of Finance: economic and financial control, analysis of reports, control of documents;

• External bodies: Court of Auditors, inspectorates, regulatory authorities, as appropriate.

State owned bodies and enterprises must:

• produce standardized financial statements within set deadlines;
• transmit regular information to the DGTF and the sectoral supervisory authority;
• Publish certain information (annual reports, key financial data, governance, auditors' reports);
• set up an up-to-date website for the main companies, according to the implementing decrees.

The DGTF may:

• send reminders and requests for regularisation;
• to report the situation to the Minister of Finance and, if necessary, to the Government;
• Propose corrective measures:
• adjustment of subsidies;
• recommendations for changes in leadership or governance;
• referral to external control bodies or the judiciary in the event of suspicion of serious irregularities.

For citizens, the reform aims to:

• improve the quality and reliability of public services (electricity, water, transport, health, education, etc.);
• make better use of public money, by reducing waste and targeting subsidies on the highest priority needs;
• strengthen transparency, by giving a clearer view of the situation and evolution of state owned bodies and enterprises ;
• securing public finances, by controlling the budgetary risks related to debts, guarantees and implicit commitments of state owned bodies and enterprises ;
• To promote, in the long term, a more sustainable and inclusive economic development , based on a modernized and more efficient public sector.