A new media bill that will liberalize the airwaves and insulate the state-owned media in Mauritania from governmental control was adopted by the country's National Assembly on July 2, 2010.

According to Hamdi Ould Mahjoub, the country's Communication and Parliamentary Affairs minister, when the law comes into force it would not only liberalize the electronic media but also eliminate the monopoly of the state over public media.

The bill is expected to become law in about ten months.

Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)'s correspondent said that the bill which was first read in the National Assembly in 2008 was put on hold following the military Coup d'état on August 6, 2008.

The correspondent said prior to the suspension of the Bill, a joint Senate-National Assembly Commission was supposed to have been established to amend it.

While commending the government for its resolve in passing this law, MFWA also encourages them to ensure that they amend other repressive laws that jail journalists and censor the media in Mauritania.