The Gambian economy is showing signs of distress as official figures point out negative indicators.
The latest inflation rate published by The Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBOS) stands at 11.7% with signs of further increase in the near term. This figure represents an unprecedented hike in prices compared to available data from the Central Bank’s website for the past 17 years.
The numbers corroborate recent newspaper headlines, especially,
Foroyaa, which has repeatedly featured consumer complaints about rising prices of essential commodities on their front page.
In their April, 30 2022 issue, the paper reported “the ongoing rise in prices of essential commodities, coupled with the skyrocketing in transportation fares have made life unbearable to Gambians as they struggle hard to manage their household budgets.”
While The Gambia government continues to pay lip service to the concerns of the masses about rising rices, little has been done to stem this tide. Government. Had repeated blamed rising prices at the COVID-19 pandemic a d the Ukraine war.
However, authoritative sources like the World Bank have hinted at fiscal profligacy as government has not shown any restraint at spending far and above their means in terms of revenue and grants inflows. A recent publication by the World Bank included this observation:
“The fiscal deficit doubled to 4.4% of GDP as capital expenditure accelerated, mainly for locally funded infrastructure projects, and tax revenues and grant decline.”
With expenditure pressures mounting without commensurating increase in revenues, inflationary pressures as expected to worsen in the months and years ahead.
In a recent publication, the IMF has included The Gambia among 20 Sub-Saharan African countries at high risk of debt distress.
By Kalajula