By Buba Gagigo
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board has sanctioned a disbursement of US$10.95 Million for The Gambia under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement.
The IMF Executive Board noted in a released statement that it has completed its first review under the ECF arrangement for The Gambia today, allowing a disbursement of the funds
“The IMF Executive Board completed today the first review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement for The Gambia, enabling a disbursement of about US$10.95 million. Economic activity continued to recover robustly. Inflation eased but remains well above the central bank’s medium-term objective,” the IMF said.
The IMF highlighted that performance under the program has been satisfactory, and the continued implementation of reforms will help address medium- and long-term macroeconomic challenges, attracting additional financing from development partners and the private sector.
“Washington, DC – July 9, 2024: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed today the first review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement, approved by the IMF Executive Board on January 12, 2024, in the amount of SDR 74.64 million (about US$98.7 million). The completion of the review allows for an immediate disbursement of SDR 8.29 million (about US$10.95 million), bringing the total disbursement under the arrangement to about SDR 16.6 million (US$21.9 million).” IMF said.
According to the IMF, economic activity in The Gambia continued to recover robustly, with economic growth estimated at 5.3 percent in 2023. This growth was supported by strong performance in the agriculture, services, telecommunications, and construction sectors.
The IMF also noted that tourist arrivals are expected to continue increasing in 2024 but will remain slightly below pre-pandemic levels.
“Remittance inflows also showed a sustained good performance. Headline inflation eased from a peak of 18.5 percent (year-on-year) in September 2023 to 11 percent in April 2024, mainly due to declining global food and energy prices, but it remains well above the central bank’s medium-term objective of 5 percent,” they said.
The IMF maintained that the introduction of a new foreign exchange policy in December 2023 helped to largely close the gap between the official and parallel market exchange rates and ease foreign exchange shortages.
“International reserves remain at a comfortable level of above 4.5 months of imports. The outlook remains subject to downside risks from the repercussions of global and regional conflicts. Such risks include international commodity price volatility, lower tourist arrivals, and weak remittance inflows,” the IMF said.