The Gambia government’s high domestic debt burden, which continues to rise by the day and interest payment of which consumes more than 22% of the public revenues, is crowding out other public expenditures as there is no space to increase funding for employment creation, purchase drug for the hospitals, and other pressing national needs.
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| Mrs Songwe |
“The
debt dynamics today are dragging down in the economy and cold undermine growth
in the future,” the World Bank regional director for The
Gambia, Senegal, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, and Mauritania, Vera Songwe,
has said.
Speaking at the recently ended (12 – 13 July)
resource mobilization and investment for the Programme for Accelerated Growth
and Employment (PAGE), Mrs Songwe said The Gambia’s debt has increased from
61.7 per cent in 2009 to 68.4 per cent in 2011.
Interest payments on debt are 22.5 per cent of public revenues. The
World Bank director observed that if this trend continues, the government will
have to forgo necessary infrastructure investments in energy and road
construction.
Apart from reducing government’s power to channels
fund to other areas, the high domestic borrowing is also pushing up interest
rates and denying the private sector of the much needed fund for investment to
generate employment.
