Gambian minister of finance and economic affairs Mambury Njie says that the country’s economy is expected to grow by 6.0 percent in 2019, down from 6.5 percent in 2018.
He was speaking at the National Assembly in Banjul on Friday when he presented the national budget for the year 2020 to lawmakers.
He said the decline in growth is as a result of lower than anticipated agricultural productivity.
According to him, gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices is estimated at 86.6 billion dalasi in 2019 compared to 78.6 billion dalasi in 2018. (US$1=50.12 dalasi)
Njie said that total revenue and grants for 2020 is estimated at 24.5 billion dalasi, about 25 percent of GDP, down 3.2 percent from 25.3 billion dalasi in 2019.
He also said tax revenue is projected to rise to 11.6 billion dalasi (11.8 percent of GDP) in 2020 from 10.4 billion dalasi (11.9 percent of GDP) in 2019.
Minister Njie said out of US$ 1.8 billion pledged by development partners at the donors’ conference in 2018, only US$183 million (10 percent), has been disbursed so far.
