By Arret Jatta
Central Bank Governor Buah Saidy has addressed the growing concern over the rising value of the CFA franc against the dalasi at a press briefing held yesterday, saying that The Gambia needs to increase its exports and import less to counter the CFA surge.
Saidy said The Gambia imports a significant amount of goods and services from Senegal, including essential items like food, building materials, and even electricity, all of which are paid for in CFA, noting that this increased demand for CFA has driven up its value, putting pressure on the dalasi.
“If your demand is more than your supply, the price increases. But as a country, we are doing something about it to increase our exports and reduce imports from Senegal,” he added.
To tackle this, the governor outlined a two-pronged strategy.
The first is boosting The Gambia’s exports and reducing imports from Senegal.
He said an initiative is underway with a project funded by the African Development Bank, which, if successful, will help reverse the current trend of heavy importation and the project is expected to span three years.
The second strategy he highlighted is the use of fintech companies for electronic transfers between The Gambia and Senegal.
“Currently, while these companies facilitate money transfers to Senegal, they cannot receive money from Senegal due to policies set by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)” he added.
He further stated that the Central Bank of The Gambia is actively working to change this, with discussions underway with the BCAO governor.
He noted that the goal is to enable fintech companies to facilitate both sending and receiving money, which could help balance the demand for CFA.
