Mauritania announces new government
On Saturday, Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani announced the composition of a new government. Prime Minister El Moctar Ould Djay had submitted his government’s resignation to the head of state the previous Friday, but was reappointed as prime minister by decree by El Ghazouani that same day and tasked with forming a new cabinet. The new cabinet has 29 members: 27 ministers, the Secretary-General of the Government and a deputy minister for decentralisation. Eight members are women.
While the portfolios for foreign affairs, justice, mining and industry, and trade and tourism, among others, remained unchanged, Aïssata Lam is to take over the Ministry of Fisheries, Maritime and Port Infrastructure. The ministry faces the task of leading negotiations with the European Union on renewing the fisheries agreement, which expires in November. Several key portfolios were also reshuffled, including the ministries of defence, the interior, and energy and petroleum. The latter is taken over by Mohamed Ould Abdel Vetah, who had already headed the department from 2016 to 2020 and replaces Mohamed Ould Khaled, who is no longer part of the new government.
The government’s resignation came less than 24 hours after the submission of the investigation report into two fires at substations of the state electricity company Société Mauritanienne d’Électricité (SOMELEC) in August, which is under the technical supervision of the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum. The report attributes institutional responsibility to the ministry and assigns official responsibility to several officials, including the then energy minister, Mohamed Ould Khaled. Among other things, the investigation identified irregularities in contract preparation and award, vetting of the company, cable selection, construction supervision and commissioning. It also found that the facilities had been put into operation despite continuing technical reservations and incomplete protective measures. The commission recommended, among other things, terminating the contract with the contractor, a comprehensive safety review of SOMELEC’s facilities, and closer cooperation with the civil protection service.
The fires on 21 and 22 August 2026 caused considerable damage to the power grid and led to power outages lasting several days in parts of the capital, Nouakchott. The investigation commission put the direct costs at more than 220 million ouguiya (around 4.9 million euros); the state electricity company estimated a further 143.9 million ouguiya (around 3.2 million euros) for restoring the two substations. The economic losses resulting from the outages are estimated at 0.07 percent of gross domestic product in the third quarter of 2026. The presidency has so far not confirmed a direct link between the investigation report and the government’s resignation, but instructed the government to implement all recommendations, publish the report, impose administrative sanctions where breaches of duty are proven and, where appropriate, initiate legal proceedings.
Ethiopia opens its first gold refinery
On Saturday, Ethiopia opened its first gold refinery in the Bole Lemi Special Economic Zone near the capital, Addis Ababa. The National Precious Metals Refinery is expected to be capable of processing more than 600 tonnes of precious metals annually. In addition to the testing and refining of gold and silver, its service range also includes the casting and minting of gold and silver bars of varying degrees of purity, as well as the processing of gold into bars suitable for export. The facility was established as a joint venture with an initial investment of US$50 million. The state-owned Ethiopian Investment Holdings holds a 51 per cent stake, whilst the remaining 49 per cent is held by the Dubai-based company Sam Precious Metals.
With the refinery, Ethiopia aims to carry out more processing stages within its own borders whilst establishing itself as a regional hub for precious metal processing. According to government figures, Ethiopia generated around US$5.5 billion from gold exports in the 2025/2026 financial year – roughly half of its total export earnings. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stated that the facility should also be able to process and certify gold from neighbouring countries. Analysts believe that whether it can establish itself as a regional processing hub will depend on several factors, particularly its ability to attract precious metals from other African countries for processing, in addition to Ethiopian gold, and to obtain international accreditation.
The opening of the refinery further coincides with a period of growing security tensions in the region. In early October, several media outlets reported that Eritrean troops had advanced into the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray, including the strategically important town of Adigrat near the border with Eritrea. In the days that followed, Ethiopian drones carried out attacks on Eritrean military vehicles, before Ethiopian government forces and allied militias moved into the town. Last Friday, Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos addressed the UN Security Council in a letter, describing the presence of Eritrean troops on Ethiopian territory as an “act of aggression” that justified his country’s right to self-defence. Eritrea rejected the allegations in a letter of its own, describing Ethiopia’s invocation of the right to self-defence as an attempt to legitimise a war of aggression aimed at forcibly securing access to the Red Sea. Asmara therefore called on the Security Council to condemn Ethiopia’s actions as a “declaration of war” and to take countermeasures. On Tuesday, the Security Council met behind closed doors to discuss the matter; no official statement has yet been issued.
The escalation between Addis Ababa and Asmara comes around two weeks after fighting broke out again in northern Ethiopia (Press Review CW 32/2026). Troops from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) are fighting alongside a coalition of six other armed groups (Press Review CW 39/2026) against Ethiopian government forces. Ethiopia had already accused Eritrea on several occasions in recent months of supporting armed groups within its own borders. Most recently, Ethiopian government troops and their allied forces have been able to extend their control over other areas in Tigray. After the TPLF withdrew from the regional capital, Mekelle, in early October, government troops captured Aksum and Zalambessa, among other places, and advanced as far as the border with Eritrea. Today, Abiy appointed a caretaker government for Tigray, which is supposed to organise elections within six months.
In other news
Formula 1 announced on Tuesday that it is returning to Africa: from the early 2030s, Rwanda is set to host a Grand Prix for ten years. Plans are in place to build a new circuit in the Bugesera district, around 40 kilometres south of the capital, Kigali, and close to the new international airport. The circuit, co-designed by former Formula 1 driver Alex Wurz, is intended to blend into the natural landscape and make use of the terrain’s elevation changes in the track layout. However, a specific date for the debut race has yet to be confirmed. The Grand Prix will be marketed under the ‘Visit Rwanda’ brand, which the country also uses to promote its tourism destinations internationally. Formula 1 chief Stefano Domenicali described the agreement as an important step towards the sport’s global expansion. He said it would bring “the World Championship closer than ever to fans around the globe.” The last Formula 1 race in Africa took place in 1993 at the South African Grand Prix in Kyalami.
Event notice
On 23 and 24 November 2026, the 2026 Potsdam Africa Talks will take place at the Brandenburg Museum for Future, Present and History in Potsdam. Under the title ‘Daring to Do More in Partnership? Africa and the Future of International Cooperation’, this dialogue series will explore how partnership-based cooperation between Germany and African countries can be shaped in the face of global upheavals and changing development policy frameworks. The focus will be on different perspectives on international cooperation, the future of German development policy, and the role of politics and business in forging reliable and equitable partnerships. The programme includes, amongst other things, discussions on North-South and South-South cooperation, development policy reforms and economic cooperation. The Potsdam Africa Dialogues are organised by the Development and Peace Foundation (sef:) and bring together high-level representatives from politics, academia, business and civil society. The event is open to all interested parties. Further information on the programme and registration can be found here.