Gambia: Debt Burden Is Heavier

The debt burden of The Gambia continues to increase hourly, daily, yearly and on a large scale. In his statement at the time of laying the Estimates of the revenue and expenditure of The Gambia for the year 2027 for consideration by the National assembly, the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs stated that,

“Debt Service (Interest + Principal) is projected to increase by 20.2%, from GMD 13.46 billion in 2026 to GMD 16.17 billion in 2027, mainly due to a projected 34.0% rise in interest payments on domestic debt.”

This implies that the government has borrowed substantially to meet its expenditure needs.

The 16 billion dalasi allocated for debt service constitute 33 percent (or one-third) of the government’s total revenue. This is unsustainable.

By Foroyaa.