By Kebba AF Touray

The Gambian government provided D785.13 million in subsidies for diesel and D42.46 million for petrol between March and September 2026 to reduce the impact of rising fuel prices, Finance Minister Seedy Keita has told the National Assembly.

Mr Keita made the statement on Friday, 23 October 2026, while presenting the government’s 2027 budget speech. A budget speech is a statement in which the government explains its financial plans for the coming year, including how much money it expects to collect, how it intends to spend it and how it plans to manage public debt.

The honourable minister said the government’s 2027 budget aimed to support the country’s development priorities while maintaining control over public spending and debt.

The theme of the budget is “Deepening Economic Resilience while Enhancing Fiscal Sustainability”.

Honourable Keita said the government was targeting an overall fiscal deficit of 1% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2027 for all funds and 0.05% for government local funds. A fiscal deficit occurs when government spending is higher than its revenue.

He said the government would continue to protect spending on poverty reduction and other priority areas, including health, education, support for vulnerable people and investment in critical infrastructure.

On fuel prices, Mr Keita said domestic retail prices for petrol and diesel increased by 33.1% and 41.8% respectively between March and September 2026.

“To cushion the impact of the price increase, the Government has provided subsidy amounting to GMD 42.46 million for petrol and GMD 785.13 million for diesel between March and September 2026,” he said.

He said the subsidies had kept fuel prices below the levels they would have reached if the full increases in international prices had been passed on to consumers. Honourable Keita said inflation rebounded to 6.5% in August 2026 before declining to 6.1% in September. He said downside risks remained significant, adding that the Central Bank continued to monitor developments to contain inflation and protect external stability.

The minister said government efforts to increase revenue were expected to raise the tax-to-GDP ratio to 13.1% in 2026, despite continued revenue losses from fuel subsidies amid high international oil prices.

“The tax-to-GDP ratio is projected to increase further to 13.5 per cent in 2027, supported by continued implementation of revenue-enhancing measures and reforms,” he said.

Mr Keita said domestic revenue collection reached D20.27 billion by the end of August 2026, compared with D18.87 billion during the same period in 2025. This represented an increase of 7.4%. Tax revenue amounted to D17.87 billion, an increase of 8% compared with the same period in 2025, although it was 1% below the current target. Non-tax revenue also increased to D2.40 billion from D1.96 billion during the same period in 2025.

The minister said grants continued to be disbursed steadily because of improvements in the implementation of projects across different sectors.

“Overall, revenue and grants amounted to GMD 26.10 billion as at the end of August, expected to meet the end-year target,” he told lawmakers.

Mr Keita said the government continued to prioritise infrastructure development despite pressure on public finances. He said progress had been made in completing major road projects, including the Bani-Salikenie-Njaba-Kunda roads.

“By the end of 2026, the Government is expected to have added approximately 375 km of paved roads to the national road network,” he said.

“These projects were fully financed by the Government of The Gambia at an estimated cost of GMD 10.4 billion, covering all five regions of the country and representing a significant investment in improving connectivity, facilitating trade, and supporting economic activity”.

On agriculture, Mr Keita said the government continued to subsidise fertiliser despite rising international prices to protect farmers and support agricultural production.

“In 2025, the Government provided GMD1.1 billion for crop financing and fertiliser procurement, and GMD900 million has been allocated in 2026 to support these interventions”.

The minister said the government provided GMD 2.4 billion in subsidies to support the electricity sector in 2025.

“In 2026, GMD 1.0 billion was allocated to the sector, of which GMD 500 million has been disbursed, and partner support from the World Bank Group amounting to USD 13 million was also allocated to the sector. An allocation of D1 billion has been provided in the 2027 Budget as tariff compensation subsidy,” he added.

Mr Keita said the domestic economy was expected to remain strong despite external shocks. Real GDP growth was estimated at 5.6% in 2026, compared with preliminary growth of 5.7% in 2025. He projected that the industrial sector would grow by 9% in 2026, up from 6.4% in 2025.

He said the growth would be supported by ongoing and planned government infrastructure projects, as well as private sector investment. The services sector, which remains the largest sector of the Gambian economy, was expected to grow by 5.2% in 2026, compared with 7.6% in 2025.

Mr Keita said growth in wholesale and retail trade would be supported by exchange rate and price stability, which were expected to strengthen domestic demand. Mr Keita said The Gambia’s total public debt stood at D140.3 billion, equivalent to US$1.99 billion, at the end of December 2025. This compared with D129.5 billion, or US$1.85 billion, in 2024.

“As at end-December 2025, the total debt stock stood at GMD 140.3 billion (US$ 1.99 billion), compared with GMD 129.5 billion (US$ 1.85 billion) recorded in 2024. Despite the increase in nominal terms, the debt-to-GDP ratio declined to 72 per cent in 2025 from 76 per cent in 2024, reflecting stronger economic activity and improved revenue performance,” he said.

The minister also reported that total government expenditure during the first eight months of 2026 amounted to D31.90 billion, against a target of D34.80 billion. He said spending was 8.3% below the target and that measures to control expenditure were expected to keep overall spending within the budget target by the end of the year for all funds.