By Omar Bah
Former secretary general and now vocal supporter of opposition UDP has said the decision by the Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) to contract the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to mint its currency is risky.
CBN governor Godwin Emefiele has reportedly agreed to the currency minting proposal from the CBG governor Buah Saidy, whose delegation visited him earlier this week.
Governor Saidy said the country is running very low on currency and wants to learn how to manage their currency needs annually leveraging Nigeria’s wealth of knowledge and experience.
He said currently, they placed an order for two years’ currency minting deal abroad but they are considering minting from Nigeria if Nigeria is willing.
Reacting to the development, Momodou Sabally stated: “Why would The Gambia government take such a risky decision when Gambians are already on edge regarding counterfeit dalasis in circulation?
“The usual suspects in counterfeit currency crimes are quite obvious in the country so in terms of trust and perception it is quite disingenuous for The Gambia to print her currency in Nigeria. If the Central Bank of The Gambia goes ahead with this decision and acts upon it, it will create a lack of confidence in the domestic currency leading to inflation and depreciation of the local currency,” he predicted.
The macroeconomic ramifications of “such a boneheaded decision”, Sabally argued, “will be devasting for the poor Gambians who will ultimately pay the price of the inevitable macroeconomic instability this will cause”.
