By Omar Bah
The Gambia government has confirmed that at least 27 000 bank accounts have been overpaid for November salaries by the Central Bank following a mistake in the payment system.
According to independent sources gathered from the civil service, some workers were paid millions of dalasis, more than they can ever earn in five years or more.
In a statement shortly after the news broke online, the Central Bank of the Gambia said: “The public is hereby informed that the CBG has embarked on a comprehensive upgrade and modernisation of its IT and payment systems infrastructure. Trial runs were implemented, and the payment system went live on November 28, 2022.
The system experienced glitches during the data migration process to commercial banks that resulted in the overstatement of transactions.
“Error reversal messages and correct salary instructions have been dispatched to all commercial banks that have been diligently working with the CBG to resolve the issue. In this regard, banking hours for Tuesday, November 29, 2022, have been extended to PM. The patience and understanding of the general public during the period are highly appreciated”.
The Standard contacted the Minister of Finance, Seedy Keita who confirmed that an error occurred when the CBG initiated a system migration.
“Actually, the new system is a very effective one but it is a French system which difference unfortunately multiplied the zero digits in most cases. But all the overpayment cases have been recovered except in few cases where there have already been withdrawals,” the minister said.
