By: Binta Jaiteh
Parliamentarian Alagie Mbow has quizzed the Governor of Central Bank Buwa Saidy over the apex bank’s inconsistency in submission of reports to the National Assembly.
Hon. Mbow who is the Vice-chairperson of the Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) of the National Assembly, came up with his question and concern during the consideration stage of the bank’s 2023 Management letter on Wednesday.
Hon. Mbow then queried that Central Bank had been inconsistent in submission of reports for the past five years.
In response, Governor Saidy described Mbow’s question as crucial stating that he had been working hard to resolve the matter internally and also with actors that were making it difficult to comply with this constitutional provision and the act of the central bank.
According to him, a great deal of the delay occurred in 2023 which was beyond their control. He said it came as a result of an assessment exercise carried out by the finance department of IMF. He continued by revealing that The Gambia concluded an ECF program with IMF last year and then applied for another ECF program this year. He pointed out that meeting the IMF process and procedure dragged on for long and caused the delay.
“These are the causes of the delay not because the accounts were incomplete or issues within the bank,” he added.
Governor Saidy later assured the committee that henceforth such matters would not be accepted and promised to resolve the matter
Hon. Mbow then reiterated that they should always take note of the constitution. “The issue of compliance of the bank and any other financial matter is cognizant of the fact that compliance is key.”
“IMF and World Bank knew that very well. Going forward other reports should be submitted on time to avoid delay,” Mbow added.
