{
  "title": "IMF Executive Board Approves US$100 million Under a New Extended Credit Facility Arrangement and Concludes the 2023 Article IV Consultation with The Gambia",
  "publication": "IMF News, January 12, 2024",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2024/01/12/pr2402-the-gambia-imf-executive-board-approves-usd100m-new-ecf-concludes-2023-article-iv",
  "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2024/01/12/pr2402-the-gambia-imf-executive-board-approves-usd100m-new-ecf-concludes-2023-article-iv",
  "overlayPath": "/en/news/articles/2024/01/12/pr2402-the-gambia-imf-executive-board-approves-usd100m-new-ecf-concludes-2023-article-iv/index.md",
  "summary": "IMF Board approved a new 36-month arrangement Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement, with requested access of SDR 74.64 million (around US$100 million).",
  "publishDate": "2024-01-12",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Approval and Program Overview",
      "content": "- Executive Board approved a new 36-month Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement with requested access of SDR 74.64 million (around US$100 million).\n- The Executive Board’s decision enables an immediate disbursement of SDR 10.9 million (US$ 14.56 million).\n- The ECF-supported program aims to:\n  - strengthen economic recovery;\n  - tackle inflation;\n  - address foreign exchange pressures;\n  - reduce debt vulnerabilities;\n  - advance structural reforms; and\n  - foster strong and inclusive growth.\n- The program will build on the recently completed 2020-23 ECF-supported program and the authorities’ 2023-2027 Recovery-Focused National Development Plan."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Main Policy Focuses and Recommendations",
      "content": "- Fiscal policy:\n  - Focus on fiscal consolidation to build fiscal resilience while safeguarding priority and poverty-reducing spending.\n  - Implement the planned medium-term fiscal strategy, including further streamlining of tax incentives and fuel subsidies, rationalization of subsidies to state-owned enterprises, and better prioritization of public investment projects.\n  - Bolster domestic resource mobilization and maintain prudent domestic borrowing.\n  - Strictly adhere to the external borrowing plan and seek grants and highly concessional financing.\n- Monetary and exchange rate policy:\n  - Tighten monetary policy stance to tackle inflationary pressures.\n  - Reaffirm a market-determined exchange rate to address foreign exchange pressures and ensure smooth functioning of the forex market.\n- Public enterprises, governance, and structural reforms:\n  - Overhaul the SOE sector to turn SOEs into revenue-generating assets, including through partial privatization.\n  - Advance governance reforms guided by recommendations from an IMF governance diagnostic mission.\n  - Enhance public financial management and implement anti‑corruption measures, including accelerating the implementation of the anti‑corruption bill.\n  - Strengthen the business environment to support private sector-led growth and poverty reduction.\n- Social and long-term resilience:\n  - Adopt strong climate-related policies and request a Climate Public Investment Management Assessment.\n  - Tackle gender inequality and enhance financial inclusion to support resilient and inclusive growth."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Executive Board Assessment and Staff Appraisal",
      "content": "- Directors agreed with the thrust of the staff appraisal and commended authorities for democratic consolidation and reform implementation under the previous ECF arrangement.\n- Noted downside risks: high inflation, reemerging foreign exchange pressures, and debt vulnerabilities.\n- Emphasized continued reform implementation and program ownership to maintain macroeconomic stability and foster inclusive growth.\n- Welcomed the authorities’ medium-term fiscal framework anchored in strengthened domestic revenue mobilization and enhanced spending efficiency.\n- Recommended building buffers, enhancing debt management, and maintaining prudent external borrowing given the expiration of debt service deferrals in 2025.\n- Commended central bank monetary actions; noted that further tightening guided by inflation developments could be needed.\n- Stressed the importance of a market-determined exchange rate to ease foreign exchange pressures and safeguard reserves.\n- Encouraged strengthening financial supervision, regulatory framework, and AML/CFT framework."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Economic Outlook and Recent Performance (selected findings)",
      "content": "- The Gambia has weathered COVID-19 and Russia’s war in Ukraine more resiliently relative to peer countries.\n- Economic growth:\n  - 2022: 4.9 percent\n  - 2023: 5.6 percent (expected this year, up from 4.9 percent in 2022)\n  - Medium term: around 5 percent, supported by remittances, tourism recovery, and new infrastructure projects.\n- Inflation:\n  - Headline inflation at 18.0 percent y-o-y in October 2023 (driven primarily by international commodity prices).\n  - Inflation projected to gradually ease following tightening of monetary policy stance.\n- Foreign exchange and reserves:\n  - Forex pressures and shortages are reemerging.\n  - Forex reserves, in months of imports, projected to slightly decline in the medium term but broadly remain at an adequate level (around 4 months) with support of IMF and other development partner disbursements.\n- Debt vulnerabilities:\n  - Public and external debt remain at high risk of distress; reducing debt vulnerabilities is a program priority."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Program Pillars (as articulated in Annex Program Summary)",
      "content": "- (i) Addressing inflation and foreign exchange pressures:\n  - Central bank to tighten monetary policy, reaffirm market-determined exchange rate, and ensure smooth forex market functioning.\n- (ii) Reducing debt vulnerabilities and overhauling the SOE sector:\n  - Sustain fiscal consolidation, bolster domestic revenue mobilization, enhance expenditure efficiency through prioritization and strict PFM principles, and pursue partial privatization of SOEs.\n- (iii) Strengthening governance and unlocking growth potential:\n  - Implement key recommendations from governance diagnostic; strengthen business environment.\n- (iv) Addressing long-term challenges related to climate change and gender gaps:\n  - Build climate resilience and close gender gaps to bolster income and reduce inequality."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Selected Economic Indicators (2019–26, selected series and values)",
      "content": "- GDP at constant prices (percent change):\n  - 2022: 4.9\n  - 2023: 5.6\n  - 2024: 5.8\n  - 2025: 5.0\n  - 2026: (projection) 5.0\n- GDP deflator (percent change):\n  - 2022: 10.8\n  - 2023: 14.1\n  - 2024: 11.4\n  - 2025: 8.3\n- Consumer prices (average, percent change):\n  - 2022: 17.2\n  - 2023: 15.9\n  - 2024: 10.5\n  - 2025: 6.5\n- Consumer prices (end of period, percent change):\n  - 2022: 13.7\n  - 2023: 18.9\n  - 2024: 12.9\n  - 2025: 8.1\n- Exports, f.o.b (US$ values, percent change):\n  - 2022: 58.7\n  - 2023: 92.3\n  - 2024: 20.9\n  - 2025: 13.6\n  - 2026: 12.1\n- Imports, f.o.b (US$ values, percent change):\n  - 2022: 24.6\n  - 2023: 15.6\n  - 2024: 3.2\n  - 2025: 6.9\n- Broad money (contributions; percent):\n  - 2022: 2.5\n  - 2023: 9.4\n  - 2024: 9.6\n- Net foreign assets (contribution to broad money growth):\n  - 2022: -8.2\n  - 2023: 0.4\n  - 2024: -0.5\n  - 2025: 0.3\n- Central government finances (percent of GDP):\n  - Domestic revenue (taxes and other revenues):\n    - 2022: 12.0\n    - 2023: 13.0\n    - 2024: 12.8\n  - Tax Revenue:\n    - 2022: 9.1\n    - 2023: 9.9\n    - 2024: 10.2\n  - Grants:\n    - 2022: 7.0\n    - 2023: 6.4\n  - Total expenditures:\n    - 2022: 22.3\n    - 2023: 22.7\n    - 2024: 20.5\n    - 2025: 20.0\n  - Net lending (+)/borrowing (–):\n    - 2022: -4.9\n    - 2023: -2.5\n    - 2024: -1.3\n    - 2025: -1.0\n- Public debt (percent of GDP):\n  - 2022: 82.8\n  - 2023: 71.8\n  - 2024: 65.2\n  - 2025: 60.8\n  - 2026: 56.2\n- External public debt (millions of US$):\n  - 2022: 965.9\n  - 2023: 1029.3\n  - 2024: 1032.0\n  - 2025: 1084.2\n  - 2026: 1112.4\n  - 2027: 1134.8\n- External current account balance (excluding official transfers, percent of GDP):\n  - 2022: -6.1\n  - 2023: -7.2\n  - 2024: -7.6\n  - 2025: -5.5\n  - 2026: -4.4\n- Gross official reserves (millions of US$):\n  - 2022: 454.7\n  - 2023: 412.3\n  - 2024: 437.5\n  - 2025: 440.4\n  - 2026: 448.1\n- Gross official reserves (months of next year's imports):\n  - 2022: 4.2\n  - 2023: 4.1\n- Nominal GDP (billions of dalasi):\n  - 2022: 122.6\n  - 2023: 147.6\n  - 2024: 174.8\n  - 2025: 200.2\n  - 2026: 221.5\n- GDP per capita (US$):\n  - 2022: 841.9\n  - 2023: 904.5\n  - 2024: 1009.2\n  - 2025: 1076.2\n  - 2026: 1109.4\n- PV of overall debt-to-GDP ratio:\n  - 2022: 59.9\n  - 2023: 54.3\n  - 2024: 50.8\n  - 2025: 46.6\n\nPress Release No. 24/02\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- Bo Li\n- The Gambia and the IMF\n- IMF Policy Advice -- A Factsheet\n- Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) -- A Factsheet\n- Press Releases\n- PRESS CENTER\n- recently completed 2020-23 ECF-supported program\n- http://www.IMF.org/external/np/sec/misc/qualifiers.htm\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2024/01/12/pr2402-the-gambia-imf-executive-board-approves-usd100m-new-ecf-concludes-2023-article-iv"
    }
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    "Published: January 12, 2024",
    "Executive Board approved a new 36-month Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement with requested access of SDR 74.64 million (around US$100 million).",
    "The Executive Board’s decision enables an immediate disbursement of SDR 10.9 million (US$ 14.56 million).",
    "The ECF-supported program aims to:",
    "The program will build on the recently completed 2020-23 ECF-supported program and the authorities’ 2023-2027 Recovery-Focused National Development Plan.",
    "Fiscal policy:",
    "Monetary and exchange rate policy:",
    "Public enterprises, governance, and structural reforms:",
    "Social and long-term resilience:",
    "Directors agreed with the thrust of the staff appraisal and commended authorities for democratic consolidation and reform implementation under the previous ECF arrangement.",
    "Noted downside risks: high inflation, reemerging foreign exchange pressures, and debt vulnerabilities.",
    "Emphasized continued reform implementation and program ownership to maintain macroeconomic stability and foster inclusive growth.",
    "Welcomed the authorities’ medium-term fiscal framework anchored in strengthened domestic revenue mobilization and enhanced spending efficiency.",
    "Recommended building buffers, enhancing debt management, and maintaining prudent external borrowing given the expiration of debt service deferrals in 2025.",
    "Commended central bank monetary actions; noted that further tightening guided by inflation developments could be needed.",
    "Stressed the importance of a market-determined exchange rate to ease foreign exchange pressures and safeguard reserves.",
    "Encouraged strengthening financial supervision, regulatory framework, and AML/CFT framework.",
    "The Gambia has weathered COVID-19 and Russia’s war in Ukraine more resiliently relative to peer countries.",
    "Economic growth:",
    "Inflation:",
    "Foreign exchange and reserves:",
    "Debt vulnerabilities:",
    "(i) Addressing inflation and foreign exchange pressures:",
    "(ii) Reducing debt vulnerabilities and overhauling the SOE sector:",
    "(iii) Strengthening governance and unlocking growth potential:",
    "(iv) Addressing long-term challenges related to climate change and gender gaps:",
    "GDP at constant prices (percent change):",
    "GDP deflator (percent change):",
    "Consumer prices (average, percent change):",
    "Consumer prices (end of period, percent change):",
    "Exports, f.o.b (US$ values, percent change):",
    "Imports, f.o.b (US$ values, percent change):",
    "Broad money (contributions; percent):",
    "Net foreign assets (contribution to broad money growth):",
    "Central government finances (percent of GDP):",
    "Public debt (percent of GDP):",
    "External public debt (millions of US$):",
    "External current account balance (excluding official transfers, percent of GDP):",
    "Gross official reserves (millions of US$):",
    "Gross official reserves (months of next year's imports):",
    "Nominal GDP (billions of dalasi):",
    "GDP per capita (US$):",
    "PV of overall debt-to-GDP ratio:",
    "[Bo Li](https://www.imf.org/en/About/senior-officials/Bios/bo-li)",
    "[The Gambia and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/GMB/index.htm)",
    "[IMF Policy Advice -- A Factsheet](https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/imf-surveillance)",
    "[Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) -- A Factsheet](https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2023/special-drawing-rights-sdr)",
    "[Press Releases](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)",
    "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)",
    "[recently completed 2020-23 ECF-supported program](https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/03/23/pr2099-gambia-imf-executive-board-approves-usd47-1-million-ecf-arrangement)",
    "[http://www.IMF.org/external/np/sec/misc/qualifiers.htm](http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/misc/qualifiers.htm)",
    "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)"
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