The
Vice-President of the World Bank, Maktar Diop, has said the World Bank is going
to provide The Gambia with US$60 million for its budget support.
Mr
Diop was in The Gambia over the weekend, where he held a meeting with
Vice-President Fatoumatta Jallow-Tambajang and Finance Minister Amadou Sanneh.
In
the same time, he held a closed-door meeting with President Adama Barrow at the
Kairaba Beach Hotel.
Diop
said US$40 million will be provided latest June, and the balance of US$20
million will be given after June.
Speaking
to journalists shortly after a closed-door meeting with President Barrow, Mr
Diop said they are now ready to support The Gambia after the change of
government.
Diop
added that he discussed various sectors with the president, including
education, health as well as the energy sector, and his team will be in The
Gambia for a week meeting with ministers to identify what could be done in
various areas.
World
Bank has provided The Gambia with US$7.5 million U.S dollar grant for the
health sector.
The
Minister of Finance, Amadou Sanneh, said all parastatals, especially the
National Water and Electricity Company, GAMTEL, and Gambia Public Transport
Services are bankrupt and government coffers are empty.
“We need real help from donors to sustain the
country,” he said.
Currently,
the World Bank has five ongoing projects in The Gambia: maternal and child
nutrition, commercial agriculture, and value change management projects, Gambia
Integrated financial system, information system, results for education
achievement and development projects and Gambia electricity support project.
It
should be noted that in the 2016 budget during Jammeh’s time, the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank did not support the budget due to budgetary
over-expenditure, a high level of domestic debt and interfering with the
exchange rate of the dalasi.
Jammeh
used to fix the rate, which both World Bank and IMF did not see as a viable
measure.
