In its
latest move on the much-talked about foreign exchange issue, the presidency has
announced that the exchange rate of the US dollar is with immediate effect
fixed at a maximum of 37 dalasi.
In a statement issued late on Saturday, the Office of the President expressed concern over what it called the unwarranted hike in the exchange rate of The Gambian dalasi vis-à-vis other international currencies, notably the US dollar.
The hike, it said, is often instigated by unscrupulous and unpatriotic individuals who are bent on sabotaging the economy.
The presidency warned that this state of affairs is unacceptable and as such ‘‘the exchange rate of the US dollar is fixed at a maximum of 37 dalasis to the dollar with immediate effect.’’
According to the presidency statement, henceforth any individual who wishes to ship foreign currency out of the country must do so through one of the numerous banks in the country.
However, it went on, where it is absolutely necessary for an individual to carry cash out of the country such must not exceed 10 thousand US dollars, and must be declared at the point of exit otherwise it would be cancelled.
The presidency further warned individuals and business entities against hoarding of foreign currency as doing so is against the law.
It said the state has knowledge of those involved in hoarding of foreign currency, and that such persons will be pursued and prosecuted.
It added that Operation SWAT will be reinforced to crack down on illegal/parallel market dealers in foreign currency.
