Agriculture is the least credit recipient from commercial banks #gambia

The governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia
(CBG) has told members of the Public Accounts
and Public Enterprises Committees (PAC/PEC) of
the National Assembly that agriculture, the
second biggest contributor to the country's Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) after services sector,
"continues to be the least recipient of credit from
commercial banks."
Presenting the activity report and audited financial
statements of the CBG, Governor Amadou Colley
informed the members that the sector attracted
5.2 percent of overall credit in 2012 compared to
5.7 percent in 2011. Total credit to the sector,
mainly for production and marketing, he told the
members, contracted to D284.3 million or by 8. 6
percent in 2012 compared to 7.3 percent in 2011.
He was quick to point out that agricultural
production had declined substantially in 2011 due
to poor rains.
Manufacturing sector
Governor Colley also disclosed to members that
lending to the manufacturing sector contracted to
D344.1 million, or 2.1 percent, compared to a
'positive' growth of 25.7 percent in 2011. He said
the sector absorbed 6.3 percent of overall credit
relative to 6.5 and 5.3 percent in 2011 and 2010
respectively. "Manufacturing sector in The
Gambia is small and undeveloped and contributes
less than 5 percent of GDP," he stated.
Trade
On the other hand, the governor told the PAC/
PEC that distinctive trade sector remains the
dominant sector in the credit market, accounting
for 30.1 percent of total credit from 26.0 percent a
year ago. Total loans and advances extended to
the sector, he disclosed, rose to D1.6 billion or
15.6 percent in 2012 from a contraction of about
8.3 percent in 2011.
Tourism
Total credit to the tourism sector, according to
the governor, declined to D284.9 million or 10.5
percent compared to a positive growth of 11.7
percent in 2011. "Tourism sector contributes
about 6.3 percent of GDP in 2012 but attracted
only 5.2 percent of overall credit compared to 5.8
percent and 5.4 percent in 2011 and 2010
respectively. The sector provides employment
opportunities for many Gambians," he
underscored.
Fishing
The governor also disclosed that the fishing
industry attracted 0.2 percent of overall
commercial bank credit. Credit to the sector, he
said, contracted markedly in 2012 by 40.9 percent
compared to 26.3 percent in 2011.
Revenue and grants
He disclosed that the overall revenue and grants
in 2012 is estimated to have grown by 15.7
percent to D6476.9 million (22.5percent of GDP)
over the 2011 outturn of D5597.2 million (21.1
percent of GDP). Colley disclosed that the tax
revenue generated in 2012 amounted to D4163.4
million (14.5 percent of GDP) surpassing its target
by D50.0 million and higher than the 2011outturn
by 12.0 percent.
Similarly, he stated that indirect taxes, constituting
64. 0 percent of tax revenue, increased slightly by
D154.8 million or 6.2 percent from its 2011
outturn and the expansion in direct taxes
mirrored the surge in domestic tax on goods and
services by 13.2 percent and international trade
taxes by 3.3 percent.
Colley said the Gambian economy continues to
face significant challenges in 2012 on accounts of
the crop failure in 2011 and the crop production
declined by about 62 percent, leading to a
significant drop in exports and foreign exchange
earnings of the country. "As a result of the
economic slow down and the reduced foreign
inflows, the domestic currency came under
intense pressure in 2012. At the policy front,
significant gains have been made with the IMF in
2011 and during the first assessment period (June
2012). Unlike the episode during which policy
slippages, especially excessive money growth led
to a depreciation of the Dalasis by 32.3 percent
and 46.3 percent against the US Dollars and
Pound Sterling respectively, money supply
growth (7.8 percent) in 2012 has been very
moderate,"