The Gambian government has started to pay its outstanding debt to the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC) and will pay the remaining D521.7 million by December 2030, the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs told the National Assembly.
That revelation came on Wednesday, in response to a query from the National Assembly Member for Banjul Central, who sought clarification on the government’s outstanding financial obligations to the corporation, including D8.6 million incurred on behalf of the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC).
The total outstanding obligations of the government to the SSHFC as at February 28, 2022 stood at D816,706,067, the finance minister said.
He told lawmakers that the government had repaid D295,011,911 in principal by December 30, 2022, bringing the outstanding balance down to D521,694,156.
The minister explained that the remaining debt had been restructured into 10 equal principal instalments of D52,169,415.60 each, under a revised repayment arrangement that took effect on June 1, 2026.
“The repayment has been resumed on the 1st of June 2026,” he told the National Assembly.
Under the revised schedule, the government is expected to make payments at approximately six-month intervals, with the final instalment due on December 2, 2030.
The repayment arrangement has provided a schedule for the settlement of the government’s long-standing financial obligations to SSHFC, an institution responsible for the management of social security and housing finance schemes in The Gambia.
The disclosure updates the government’s efforts to settle its outstanding obligations to the corporation, although the repayment schedule will require continued financial commitments over the next four years.
