By: Nyima Sillah
Mr. Buah Saidy, the Governor of the Central Bank of the Gambia (CBG) has stated that the focus of the CGB is to bring down inflation and ensure a stable exchange rate of the dalasi, without losing sight of supporting sustainable growth and development.
Governor made this remark on Wednesday 14th June, at the joint in-country launching of the April 2023 Regional Economic Outlook (REO) for Sub-Saharan Africa, an event held at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara Conference Centre.
Addressing the gathering, Governor Saidy said “Let me at this stage strongly reaffirm the commitment and resolve of the Central Bank of The Gambia to achieving our mandate of price and currency stability. The focus is to bring down inflation and ensure a stable exchange rate of the dalasi, without losing sight of supporting sustainable growth and development.
“It is an important balancing act, but we must face the challenges by being bold and decisive in our policy decisions. Currently, inflation at 17.4 percent has risen beyond our tolerable levels – owing to domestic and imported cost factors.”
He added that in response, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank increased the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by two percentage points in its last meeting to signal a tight monetary policy stance and temper inflation expectations.
The Committee, he said, will continue to closely monitor developments and stands ready to take further actions if necessary, noting Last year, the Central Bank made available from its external reserves over US$139 million to ease foreign currency supply shortage to ensure continued importation of essential commodities.
“The Bank also continues to collaborate with stakeholders to enhance the effectiveness of the use of domestic resources to complement foreign financing. As we embark on this journey, it is our strong conviction that by adopting appropriate policy measures, we can navigate and address the existing challenges and steer our economy towards a path that will improve the quality of life of citizens,” he echoed.
He later acknowledged the crucial role of their development partners, including the IMF, World Bank, the EU, IsDB and AfDB are playing in this journey and thanked them for their unwavering support throughout these trying times.