Finance Minister Reports to Parliament on 2025 Budget Implementation and Monitoring

Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Seedy Keita

By Fatou Sillah

Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Seedy Keita on Monday presented an update to the National Assembly on the implementation and monitoring of the 2025 annual budget, reporting improved revenue collection but warning of mounting expenditure pressures in the year’s first quarter.

Speaking during the Sixth Ordinary Session of the legislature, Mr. Keita said total revenue for the first quarter stood at 6.67 billion dalasis, exceeding the projected 6.46 billion dalasis by 3 percent, driven largely by improved domestic resource mobilization.

“This positive performance is mainly attributed to strengthened domestic tax collection,” Mr. Keita told lawmakers. He noted that domestic tax revenue amounted to 6.16 billion dalasis, outperforming the quarterly target of 5.6 billion dalasis by 10 percent. However, non-tax revenues significantly underperformed, falling 40 percent short of projections.

On the expenditure side, the Minister reported total spending of 8.13 billion dalasis, which was 3 percent below the quarterly budget estimate of 8.35 billion dalasis. The shortfall, he explained, resulted primarily from lower-than-expected debt service payments and restrained spending on goods and services.

“Actual interest payments on debt stood at 1.57 billion dalasis, compared to a budgeted 1.85 billion dalasis,” Mr. Keita said, adding that capital expenditures under the Government Local Fund (GLF) also remained below projections. He indicated that goods and services spending totaled 1 billion dalasis, 18 percent below target, while GLF capital expenditure reached 1.14 billion dalasis, also falling short by 18 percent.

However, wage pressures persisted. Personnel costs totaled 2.34 billion dalasis, exceeding the budgeted amount of 2.12 billion dalasis by 7 percent, a variance Mr. Keita attributed to a higher-than-anticipated public sector wage bill following an average civil service salary increase of 30 percent.

Subsidies and transfers, the Minister added, surged to 2.04 billion dalasis, 9 percent above the quarterly budget of 1.86 billion dalasis, driven in part by a 580 million dalasi input subsidy for fertilizer and increased subventions to public institutions.

Despite the higher recurrent spending, The Gambia’s gross fiscal deficit narrowed to 1.45 billion dalasis, falling 23 percent below the quarter’s projected shortfall of 1.88 billion dalasis. Mr. Keita noted that no external budget support was anticipated in the first quarter, but the deficit is expected to normalize once such support materializes later in the year.

The Minister emphasized that tax revenue gains reflected ongoing improvements in tax administration and compliance, bolstered by recent digitization efforts. “We saw particularly strong performance in taxes on profits, capital gains, goods and services, and international trade,” he said.

Taxes on profits and capital gains totaled 1.5 billion dalasis in the first quarter, up 39 percent compared to the same period last year, while taxes on international trade and transport reached 1.7 billion dalasis, a 52 percent increase year-over-year. Revenue from goods and services also rose to 2.26 billion dalasis, marking a 15 percent improvement.

Mr. Keita acknowledged that non-tax revenue collections, such as fees, fines, and dividends from state-owned enterprises, significantly underperformed, reaching only 6 percent of their annual target and trailing last year’s figures by 44 percent. He attributed this to delayed collections and lower returns from public enterprises.

Looking ahead, the Minister said fiscal discipline will remain a priority to ensure prudent budget execution while maintaining expenditures that support economic growth.

“The first quarter of 2025 has demonstrated a strong domestic resource performance, surpassing last year’s figures by 19 percent,” Mr. Keita said. “Nonetheless, this revenue improvement has been accompanied by increased spending pressures, particularly on wages, subsidies, and transfers.”

He concluded by reaffirming the government’s commitment to carefully managing public finances amid rising demands. “Fiscal measures will continue to be instituted to support responsible budget implementation while making room for growth-enhancing expenditures,” he said.