Mauritania: Ministers receive 600 percent pay rise

The government of Mauritania has awarded its ministers a whopping six-fold pay increase in an attempt to clamp down on top level corruption as the West African country waits for its first offshore oilfields to come on stream later this year, officials said on Monday. They confirmed recent reports in the local media that 26 government ministers had been awarded a 633 percent pay rise to 950.000 Ouguiya (US$3,620), backdated to January.