According to officials, the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) had a great start to 2026, bringing in 7.7 billion dalasis in the first quarter, which was more than its goal. With a record-breaking monthly intake, the performance is one of the biggest fiscal successes in the country’s recent history.
At a press conference in Banjul, Commissioner General Yankuba Darboe said that the authority went over its quarterly goal of 7.4 billion dalasis by about 247 million dalasis. This means that the average monthly collection is about 2.5 billion dalasis, which shows that domestic revenue collection is steadily increasing.
Darboe said that the results showed that the country’s revenue systems were “consistent and resilient.” He said that the success was due to ongoing reforms, better compliance, and stronger enforcement measures. The authority has also stepped up the digitalization of tax administration, which officials say has made things more efficient and cut down on leaks.
The numbers for the first quarter show a 14% increase over the same time last year, which is almost 1 billion dalasis more. This growth is due to better performance in important revenue streams like customs duties, excise taxes, and domestic taxes, all of which saw year-on-year improvements.
March was especially important because the GRA brought in more than 3.1 billion dalasis that month alone, which was the most money ever collected in a month in The Gambia. The number was higher than the monthly goal and a big jump from March 2025, showing that revenue collection was still going up.
The authority’s job is to raise more than 28 billion dalasis for the 2026 fiscal year, and the first quarter’s performance has already reached about 27 percent of that goal. Darboe said he was hopeful that the GRA would meet or even beat its annual goal, but he also warned that problems could still come up because of the uncertain state of the world economy.
Officials say that the strong start to the year is due to both internal changes and improvements in the economy as a whole, as well as more people paying their taxes on time. The GRA said again that it would keep up the momentum by continuing to innovate and involve stakeholders. Its goal is to further strengthen public revenue generation to support national development.
