The Gambia aims to raise domestic revenue by about 3.21 percentage points of GDP by 2030 under its first Domestic Resource Mobilization Strategy, which covers 2026 to 2030, Finance Minister Seedy Keita told the African Tax Administration Forum in Cairo on November 4, Gambian newspaper The Point reported. Tax revenue rose to about 13% of GDP at the end of 2025 from 9.8% in 2020, he said.
Analysis: The target would roughly repeat the 3.2-point gain in the tax ratio since 2020, although it covers all domestic revenue rather than tax alone. The 2027 budget already assumes tax revenue of 31.47bn GMD (€370mn), or 13.5% of projected GDP, by our calculation. Most of any further gain would therefore have to come in 2028 to 2030. Each point of GDP is worth about 2.3bn GMD (€27mn) at projected 2027 output, by our calculation. The minister did not specify from which year the target is measured. The strategy, with any breakdown by tax, has not been published.
Source: The Point newspaper (Banjul), The Point, November 6, 2026, By 2030 and 2020 and March 2026; The Point newspaper (Banjul), The Point, 'Gambia targets D3.21B GDP revenue gain by 2030 under new strategy - finance minister', November 6, 2026, End-2025; Kerr Fatou, Kerr Fatou, reporting the 2027 draft estimates, FY2027; Foroyaa Newspaper (Serrekunda), Minister of Finance's 2027 Budget Speech to the National Assembly, October 23, 2026, as reported by Foroyaa (October 23, 2026), 2026
The Gambia's agriculture ministry handed 12 tractors to farmers at Yundum under its mechanization program, following an earlier batch of 25, Agriculture Minister Demba Sabally said, The Point reported on November 9. The government and beneficiaries each contribute 25%, and the remaining 50% is paid in monthly installments over four years, he said.
Analysis: The 37 tractors handed over so far are about a fifth of the 180 in the government's 2024 supply contract, by our calculation, assuming both batches belong to it. Deliveries slowed because the 25% advance of about 52mn GMD (€0.61mn) was paid in two installments, in 2025 and 2026, the minister told lawmakers in October. Farmers now share the upfront payment with the state and pay half the price in monthly installments, a model adopted after some beneficiaries of a 2020 scheme failed to repay, a regional agriculture director said. No date has been set for delivering the remaining 143 tractors.
Source: The Point newspaper (Banjul), The Point, 'Agric Ministry hands over 12 tractors to farmers under mechanisation programme', November 9, 2026, Ceremony on Friday before November 9, 2026 (likely November 6) and Before November 2026 and Over four years from delivery; The Standard newspaper, The Standard, October 22, 2026 (National Assembly questions), Contract signed 2024; The Standard newspaper, Agriculture Minister Demba Sabally's answers in the National Assembly, October 21, 2026, as reported by The Standard (October 22, 2026), Paid 2025-2026 (contract signed 2024); Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG), Central Bank of The Gambia homepage, Daily Valuation Rates as at November 10, 2026, November 10, 2026
The Gambia has built about 1,200 kilometers of roads since 2017 and is surveying another 1,600 kilometers, Transport, Works and Infrastructure Minister Ebrima Sillah said on November 6, according to the Banjul newspaper The Point. He said the government had addressed more than half of an estimated 4,000-kilometer road deficit. The World Bank is studying 500 kilometers and considering financing 150 of them, he said.
Analysis: The roads built so far equal about 30% of the 4,000-kilometer estimate, by our calculation. The minister's "more than half" therefore holds only if the 1,600 kilometers under survey are counted, which would take the total to 70%. The finance minister said in October that state-funded works would add about 375 kilometers of paved roads by end-2026, at 10.4bn GMD (€122mn). For contractors and suppliers of cement and bitumen, the remaining 2,800 kilometers point to a long pipeline, though the minister named a possible lender for only 150 of them. No date has been set for a World Bank financing decision.
Source: The Point newspaper (Banjul), The Point, 'Sillah: Gov't has addressed more than half of Gambia's road infrastructure deficit', November 9, 2026 (minister's remarks at the Mansa Kunda ministerial town hall, November 6, 2026), Statement of November 6, 2026 and 2017 to November 2026 and November 2026; Foroyaa Newspaper (Serrekunda), Minister of Finance's 2027 Budget Speech to the National Assembly, October 23, 2026, as reported by Foroyaa (October 23, 2026), Cumulative to end-2026 (expected) and Cumulative to end-2026 (estimate); The Alkamba Times, The Alkamba Times, 'Barrow Inaugurates 12.6km Roads Linking Five Greater Banjul Communities', November 5, 2026, Inaugurated Thursday November 5, 2026; The Alkamba Times, The Alkamba Times, 'President Barrow Inaugurates Abuko-Banjulinding Road', November 8, 2026, Inaugurated Saturday November 7, 2026; Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG), Central Bank of The Gambia homepage, Daily Valuation Rates as at November 10, 2026, November 10, 2026
The African Development Bank (AfDB) had 14 projects in The Gambia with commitments of about $170mn as of May 2026, the bank said on November 3. A revised improvement plan for March 2026 to February 2028 sets out 19 corrective actions to speed delivery, it said, after a four-day workshop in Banjul on procurement and financial management for more than 60 participants from executing agencies, ministries and the private sector.
Analysis: For both lenders, project delivery rather than financing appears to be the constraint. The AfDB's commitments equal about 27% of the roughly $624mn World Bank portfolio reported at a joint review in September, by our calculation, although the two totals may not cover the same items. The World Bank's five operations under review had disbursed 47.2% of $357.95mn, the finance minister said then, leaving about $189mn to spend. The AfDB gave no disbursement rate. For contractors and suppliers, procurement speed decides when tenders and payments reach them. The plan runs to February 2028, and the bank published no interim disbursement target.
Source: African Development Bank Group (AfDB), AfDB press release, 'African Development Bank Group Strengthens Project Delivery in the Gambia', November 3, 2026, As of May 2026 and March 2026 to February 2028; Gambiana (gambiana.com), Gambiana, 'Government and World Bank review $624m development portfolio to accelerate projects', September 22, 2026, September 2026; Gambiana (gambiana.com), Gambiana, September 22, 2026, September 2026
A World Bank-financed regional power project connected about 43,090 households in 400 localities in The Gambia, giving 344,720 people new or improved electricity access, the ECOWAS Commission said on November 3 after the project's final steering committee meeting in Abuja. The $225mn project, which also covers Guinea-Bissau and Mali, closes on December 31, 2026.
Analysis: The Gambia accounts for about four in five of the project's 490 electrified localities and more than two-thirds of the nearly 500,000 people it reached, by our calculation. The Gambia's gap is mostly rural: access stood at 45% in rural areas against more than 97% in Banjul and Kanifing in 2024, according to the National Energy Compact as cited by Ecofin Agency. The new customers add demand to a grid where thermal plants produced 87% of domestic power that year. The release named no follow-on financing for The Gambia before the project closes on December 31.
Source: ECOWAS Commission, ECOWAS Commission press release on the final steering committee meeting of the Regional Electricity Access Project (Abuja, November 2-3, 2026), distributed by APO Group, Project life to November 2026 and Six years to November 2026 and Project total and Closing date; Ecofin Agency, Ecofin Agency, 'Gambia Bets on Grid Expansion to Close Its Electricity Access Gap', September 30, 2026 (citing The Gambia's National Energy Compact), 2024
Chart of the week
The Gambia's net travel balance in the balance of payments, $mn per quarter, Central Bank of The Gambia, fourth quarter 2024–second quarter 2026
123.8
132.5
93.8
82.8
102.7
152.9
91.8
Q4 24Q1 25Q2 25Q3 25Q4 25Q1 26Q2 26
The net travel balance is what visitors spend in The Gambia minus what residents spend abroad, as published in the central bank's August 2026 Monetary Policy Report, and the figures are preliminary. The winter tourist season runs mostly through the fourth and first quarters. Those two quarters brought $123.81mn and $132.46mn in the 2024/25 season, and $102.72mn and $152.9mn in 2025/26.. Source: Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG), Central Bank of The Gambia, Monetary Policy Report, August 2026 (posted September 25, 2026), Q4 2024 and Q1 2025 and Q2 2025 and Q3 2025 and Q4 2025 and Q1 2026 and Q2 2026.
In Alama Pro this week
Deep dive: Gambia's last tourist season earned $256mn, same as a year earlier
8 stories with workings, from the state's revenue target, farm machinery, roads and development bank projects to electricity, digital skills, banks and tourism
Five key figures, from inflation and the dalasi to Treasury bill yields and reserves
