The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a staff-level agreement to provide US$11.04 million to The Gambia, subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board.
- This will bring the total IMF support to The Gambia under the 36-month Extended Credit Facility approved in January to US$33.1 million.
- The multilateral lender approved US$98.7 million in January, in a program expected to run from 2024 to 2026 upon successful reviews.
- According to the IMF, The Gambia’s economy is expected to grow 5.8% in 2024 driven by increased economic activities from the agriculture, services, telecom, and construction sectors.
“Continued policy discussions mainly focused on the fiscal trajectory for 2024 and 2025 with the aim of maintaining fiscal responsibility. This includes increasing the room for responding to large social and developmental needs, protecting the most vulnerable, addressing climate related risks and vulnerabilities, and ensuring gradual clearance of central government arrears and unsettled commitments.” Eva Jenkner, the IMF team lead noted in a statement.
Inflation in The Gambia was 10% in September from a peak of 18.5% in September 2023, still sticky, above the central bank’s medium-term objective of 5 percent. Further, remittance inflows to the country strengthened with tourist arrivals recovered to per pandemic levels.
The IMF concluded the first review of the ECF in May, unlocking US$10.9 million to help sustain the country’s robust economic outlook. Earlier, the IMF noted that the introduction of a new foreign exchange policy in December 2023 helped to largely close the wedge between the official and parallel market exchange rates and to ease foreign exchange shortages.
