Gambia has rejected an offer from International Monetary Fund (IMF) to restructure its central bank expressing a preference for Nigeria to provide the service.
Governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, Buah Saidy, made this known in Abuja, on Tuesday, when he visited his Nigerian counterpart, Mr Godwin Emefiele, to seek CBN’s assistance in restructuring his bank and to explore the possibility of printing his country’s currency in Nigeria.
Saidy said he rejected the idea of asking IMF for help in restructuring his institution because of the confidence that the Nigerian experience would best serve the interest of Gambians.
According to him, Gambia’s economy was growing at six per cent per annum before the invasion of the COVID-19 pandemic, which devastated the economy leading to a growth of 0.2 per cent.
He, however, expressed optimism that the tourism-dependent economy would rebound and grow at about 4.1 per cent in 2021.
Responding, Emefiele told his guest that Nigeria was ready to print the Dalasi for the country and that it would be more cost-effective than printing in Europe.
“My colleagues will take you to our Security Printing and Minting Company.
“Our colleagues from Liberia who were there two months ago were fascinated by the facilities we have at the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting.
“Our colleagues will see how they can help you to restructure your Central Bank and also see how we can be of assistance in printing your currency.
“I can assure you that we can be extremely competitive, if only from the standpoints of logistics and freight. The Gambia is only a few hours from here.”
