By Isatou Jawara
The World Bank yesterday approved a $56 million budget support for Gambia to support government’s efforts in strengthening fiscal position while restoring the provision of essential public services.
The support agreement which is 55% credit and 45% grant was penned by the Finance minister Amadou Sanneh and World Bank country director Louise Cord and is expected to be tabled before lawmakers for approval soon.
The Gambian economy is facing some severe challenges compounded by unsustainable public debt at 120% of the GDP, country’s finance minister Amadou Sanneh has said.
While delivering his remarks said that, the government has been striving to address the political, social and economic turbulence generated by a momentous political transition and a legacy of macro economic imbalances and challenging public sector situation.
“We are all aware that The Gambia is a fragile country, and the current economic crisis may threaten the success of the political transition. In this fragile situation with high risk involved, the World Bank has leaned forward to support the government and help build the conditions for a turnaround.”
The World Bank Country Director Mrs Louise Cord also said the Gambia Government has shown commitment to improve fiscal debt discipline, by revising the budget for 2017 to better align expenditures with available resources.
The Government has carried out audit of the civil service and security forces to address irregularities in the public payroll and limit waste of scarce resources.
