GAMBIA'S FOREIGN DEBT OVER 5 BILLION DALASIS; NOT D425 MILLION AS ANNOUNCED

At first we thought that the announcement that Gambia's debt is D425 million
was a typographical error which misled the announcers of the national radio.
The announcement was made after the Department of State for Finance and
Economic Affairs held a two-week long seminar on the national Debt Strategy
from June 26-July 6 in collaboration with Debt Relief International.

However, when we read the following comments from an article in the Daily
Observer from Abdul Hamid Adiamoh, we were convinced that it was necessary
to clarify the misconception which emerged from the coverage of the seminar
The Gambia organised a forum to examine how to manage its debt.

The relevant portion of the article reads:

"For The Gambia, with a debt of D425 million and a purse that's still
praying for more foreign aid and loans, an analytical review of debt relief
is very important. The Department of State for Finance and Economic Affairs
did just that, in collaboration with Debt Relief International, an
independent economic forum assisting debtor nations in meeting their debt
sustainability goals, a two-week long seminar on the National Debt Strategy
held at Kairaba Hotel from June 26 to July 6.

The seminar, which brought together diverse skills from various national and
international institutions involved with macroeconomics, debt management and
poverty alleviation issues successfully thrashed out modalities for The
Gambia's debt sustainability objectives. At the end, a conclusive report,
The Gambia Debt Strategy Report, was prepared. The report advises
diversification of the country's exports, lowering of interest rates with a
view to saving a projected D4 million in investments in five years and a
more concerted poverty alleviation strategy with emphasis on production
policies. It also enjoins the government to begin discussions with the
financing institutions, donor community and the BWIs in order to bring about
the reduction and relief of The Gambia's debt burden, which stands at D425
million."

Since then, many people have been asking what has happened to the rest of
the billions that FOROYAA has indicated, in earlier publications, to be owed
by Gambia Government.

Our position is that Gambia's total outstanding external public debt is over
5 billion dalasis as of October 1999. This fact can be found in the Budget
Speech of the Secretary of State for Finance and Economic Affairs dated 21st
December 1999. His report reads:

"The Gambia's total outstanding external public debt amounted to US$420.8
million at end-October 1999. The World Bank and Debt Relief International
have committed to update the debt sustainability criteria with the ultimate
goal of reviewing our eligibility for the HIPC debt relief initiative in
consideration of the social and developmental costs of debt servicing...."

If the sum of US$420.8 million is converted into dalasis at an exchange rate
of D12.00, the sum would amount to 5049.6 million dalasis. We hope those
responsible for issuing the press release will ensure that correct
information is transmitted to those who are to disseminate the information
to the general public. The Gambia is to pay 332 million dalasis as debt
service payments for this year alone. If it owed nothing more than 400
million dalasis, then there would not have been any need to call a
conference to discuss how to manage the country's debts.

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