2023-08-19 19:11:40
Gambian President Adama Barrow has suspended foreign travel for him and all ministries until the end of the year to reduce public spending, the government spokesman said in a statement on Saturday.
“President Barrow has signed the Executive Order suspending all foreign travel of the President, Vice President, Ministers, senior officials, officials and employees of all government institutions and agencies,” the document reads.
Meetings where The Gambia’s participation is mandatory and overseas travel fully funded by external sources are exempt from this ruling, subject to authorization by the President or an authorized official, it said.
The Gambia, the smallest country in continental Africa with just over two million inhabitants, is 174th out of 191 on the UN’s human development index, which aggregates criteria of health, education and level of life.
More than a fifth of the population lives on less than two dollars a day according to the World Bank. Annual inflation reached 11.6% in 2022.
The budget deficit widened to 4.8% in 2022, in particular because tax revenues fell due to lower taxes and increased subsidies for fuel, fertilizers and cereals, a consequence of the war in Ukraine.
According to a joint World Bank and IMF analysis completed in November 2022, the risk of debt distress is high. Public debt stood at 83.9% of GDP in 2022.
Mr Barrow won a second term by a large margin in December 2021, in a presidential election constituting the first open transition at the head of this former British colony since the dictatorship in 2017
1692484473
#President #temporarily #bans #government #foreign #travel
