The Gambia recorded a budget deficit of GMD195.84 million in the first quarter of 2026, significantly outperforming both the approved budget target and the deficit recorded during the same period last year, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Seedy Keita told the National Assembly.
Presenting the government’s 2026 budget implementation and monitoring report on Monday, Minister Keita said the deficit was 68 percent below the projected GMD615.44 million and 67 percent lower than the GMD587.23 million recorded in the first quarter of 2025.
“A deficit of GMD195.84 million was realised in the first quarter of 2026, which is 68 percent below the budgeted deficit of GMD615.44 million. This represents a reduction of GMD391.41 million, or 67 percent, compared to the same period last year,” he told lawmakers.
The minister noted that expenditure performance varied across ministries and agencies during the period. The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education emerged as the largest spender, driven mainly by personnel emoluments, salary payments for subvented schools, school feeding and school improvement grant programmes, and textbook printing costs.
On debt servicing, Keita reported that the National Debt Service recorded an outturn of GMD1.36 billion, representing an execution rate of 10.10 percent. He explained that the figure reflected the timing of scheduled debt repayments rather than implementation challenges.
The Ministry of Agriculture registered the highest budget execution rate at 43.03 percent, supported by substantial spending on agricultural interventions. According to the minister, the ministry spent GMD450 million on groundnut subsidies, GMD177.4 million on agricultural input subsidies, and GMD35 million on the procurement of 90 tractors.
“The Ministry of Agriculture achieved the highest execution rate in the quarter at 43.03 percent, underpinned by groundnut and agricultural input subsidies of GMD450 million and GMD177.4 million, respectively, as well as the procurement of 90 tractors at a cost of GMD35 million,” he said.
The Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure recorded an execution rate of 24.55 percent, largely due to contractor payments exceeding GMD652 million for ongoing road and infrastructure projects.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs achieved an execution rate of 21.27 percent, supported by monthly operational allocations averaging GMD288.7 million, transfers to the Gambia Revenue Authority, and development expenditures under the World Bank-funded Public Administration Modernisation Programme (PAMP), including ongoing information technology upgrades.
In contrast, the Ministry of Public Service, Administrative Reforms and Policy Coordination recorded a relatively low execution rate of 6.42 percent. Development spending was only GMD5 million out of an approved GMD396.4 million indicating delays in the implementation of key reform and policy initiatives.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy posted the lowest execution rate at 1.02 percent, largely because no expenditure had yet been incurred under a GMD1 billion energy subsidy allocation, which constitutes a significant share of the ministry’s budget.
Overall, total government expenditure during the first quarter reached GMD7.87 billion, slightly exceeding total revenue of GMD7.68 billion and resulting in a modest fiscal gap of approximately 2 percent.
“The end of the first quarter 2026 GLF budget implementation period shows a total expenditure of GMD7.87 billion, which is just 2 percent above the total revenue of GMD7.68 billion,” the minister stated.
Keita reaffirmed the government’s commitment to maintaining macroeconomic stability through enhanced domestic revenue mobilisation, prudent debt management, and sustained public investment aimed at promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
