Finance Minister: Government Allocates D500M Fuel Subsidy to Stabilise Prices

By Fatou Sillah 

The Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Seedy Keita, has announced that the government allocated approximately D500 million in fuel subsidies over a two-month period to stabilise domestic prices and cushion consumers against volatility in global oil markets.

According to the minister, the intervention is intended to prevent the full impact of rising international fuel prices from being passed on to consumers. He disclosed that the government absorbed losses equivalent to D350 million in April and plans to provide an additional D150 million subsidy in May, bringing the total support to D500 million.

“The losses that the government has for the price of fuel not go up is equivalent to D350 million dalasi in April, in May, the government will subsidize 150 million, which is 500 million in these two months,” he said. 

Keita emphasised that global market dynamics continue to exert significant pressure on fuel prices, noting that The Gambia remains vulnerable to external shocks due to its reliance on imported petroleum products.

“What happened is a disaster and is not our fault and this thing affects the whole world even in the United States, they have increased their fuel prices and we do not have oil and refineries in the Gambia,” he explained.

He added that government subsidies have played a critical role in maintaining relative price stability despite increasing import costs.

“The reason our price did not go that up is because the government is subsidizing the price so that it will not be felt by citizens,” he stated. 

The minister further noted that fuel pricing is reviewed monthly through consultations with importers and traders, taking into account global oil benchmarks, exchange rates, and profit margins.

“Every month we have a discussion with traders and look at the prices in the world and also the dollar rate and how much sellers are putting for profit and then look at the price,” He Said. 

Keita also revealed that the government has, in some instances, forgone tax revenues to support price stability. He cited April as an example, when no tax revenue was collected on fuel because market prices fell below the duty-free threshold.

“In April, the government did not take any tax revenue because the price of fuel is lower than the duty-free price,” He Said.