By Ebrima S. Jallow
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on June 10th, 2022 completed the fourth review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement for The Gambia. The completion of the review enables an immediate disbursement of SDR 5 million, about US$ 6.72 million, to help meet the country’s balance-of-payments and fiscal financing needs, support the post-pandemic recovery, and address challenges from the war in Ukraine. This brings total disbursements under the ECF arrangement to SDR 45 million. The Board also completed a financing assurances review and granted a waiver of non-observance of a performance criterion on the ceiling on the net domestic borrowing of the central government.
The ECF arrangement for The Gambia was approved by the IMF’s Executive Board on March 23, 2020, with initial total access of SDR 35 million (or 56.3 percent of quota) that was augmented to SDR 55 million (88.4 percent of quota) at the time of the completion of the first review under the ECF, on January 15, 2021. The Gambia has also benefited from an IMF Rapid Credit Facility disbursement of SDR 15.55 million approved on April 15, 2020, and received debt service relief from the IMF under the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust, totaling SDR 7.9 million.
The Gambia’s economic growth is estimated at 4.3 percent in 2021 despite the various waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Growth is projected to reach 5.6 percent in 2022, predicated on strong remittance inflows, a robust expansion of the construction sector, and large public investment projects. The repercussions of the war in Ukraine intensify inflationary pressures, exacerbate pandemic-related uncertainties, dampen tourism prospects, and disrupt the supply of food and agricultural inputs. The central bank took initial measures to contain inflationary
