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THE GAMBIA: Policies to Foster Growth Public Disclosure Authorized Volume II. Macroeconomy, Finance, Trade and Energy May 19, 2015 Trade and Competitiveness Practice Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal Country Department Africa Region Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Document of the World Bank REPUBLIC OF GAMBIA –FISCAL YEAR January 1 st - December 31 st MONETARY EQUIVALENT (Exchange rate as of May 15, 2015) Currency Unit = Gambian Dalasi (GMD) 1,00 US$ = 42.6000 GMD WEIGHTS AND MEASUREMENTS Metric System ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ABTA Association of British Travel Agents IPC Investment Promotion Center TEU Twenty-foot equivalent Unit ADR Average Daily Rate JIC Joint Industrial Council Agreement TFP Total Factor Productivity Agribusiness Services and Producers’ Trade Intensity Index ASPA LDCs Least Developed countries TII Association Association of Small Enterprises in Tourism Master Plan ASSET LFO Liquid Pilot Fuel TMP Tourism C.Pct Column Percentage LIC Low Income Countries ULC Unit Labor Cost CAR Capital Adequacy ratio LMIC Low Middle Income Countries UNDP United Nations Development Program CBG Central Bank of The Gambia MFI Microfinance institution UREP Upland Rice Expansion Program Ministry of Finance and Economic United Nations World Tourism CET Common external tariff MOFEA UNWTO Affairs Organization DB 2015 Doing business 2015 Report MTC Ministry of Tourism and Culture VFR Visiting Friends and Relatives Economic Community of West Ministry of Trade, Industry and West African Agricultural Productivity ECOWAS MOTIE WAAP African States Employment Program Ministry of Works, Construction and West African Economic and Monetary EPZ Export Processing Zone MOWCI WAEMU Infrastructure Union ES Enterprise Survey MT Metric Ton WDI World Development Indicators National Association of Cooperative World Development Report FDI Foreign Direct Investment NACCUG WDR Credit Unions of Gambia World Economic Forum FEZ Free Economic Zone NAWFA National Women Farmers Association WEF Gambia Telecommunications National Agronomic Research World Trade Organization GAMTEL NARI WTO Company Institute National Water and Electricity World Travel and Tourism Council GAP Good agricultural practice NAWEC WTTC Company GBT Gambia Tourism Board NER Nominal Exchange Rate GCAA Gambia Civil Aviation Authority NES National Export Strategy Gambia Comm. Agric. and Value Chain GCAV NPL Non Performing Loan Man. Project GCI Global Competitiveness Index NRA National Road Authority GDA Gambia Divestiture Agency ODI Overseas Development Institute GDP Gross Domestic Product Pct Percentage Gambia Growth & Competitiveness Private Participation in port GGCP PPI Project Infrastructure Gambia Investment & Export GIEPA PPPA Purchasing power parity Promotion Agency GIG Gambia is Good PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy paper Gambia Investment Promotion & Free GIPFZA R. Pct Row Percentage Zones Agency GoG Government of The Gambia RCA Revealed Comparative Advantage GPA Gambia Ports Authority REER Real Effective Exchange rate GTA Gambia Tourism Authority ROA Return on assets GTB Gambia Tourism Board SGA Sesame Grower Association Gambia Tourism and Hospitality GTHI SME Small and Medium Enterprise Institute HDI Human Development Indicator SS Small State HFO Heavy Fuel Oil SSA Sub Saharan Africa Social Security and Housing Finance ICJ International court of justice SSHFC Corporation IEF Index of Economic Freedom T&T Travel and Tourism IFC International Finance Corporation TCI Trade Complementarities Index IMF International Monetary Fund TDA Tourism Development Area Vice President: Makhtar Diop Country Director: Vera Songwe Practice Director: Annabel Gonzales Practice Manager: John Speakman Task Team Leader: Jean Michel N. Marchat 47 AUTHORS Julian Casal (Economist, Financial Sector, GFMDR, World Bank) Francesca De Nicola (Economist, Trade, GTCDR, World Bank) Fatouma Toure Ibrahima (Senior Financial Sector Specialist, GEEDR, World Bank) Annette I. De Kleine Feige (Senior Economist, Macroeconomics, GMFDR, World Bank) Jean-Michel Marchat (Lead Economist, GTCDR, World Bank – Task Team Leader) AKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Gambian authorities, the various business associations of the country and several individual business owners for their contribution, their patience and kindness in responding to our queries. The authors also wish to thank Jean Francois Arvis (Senior Transport Economist, GTCDR), Philip English (Program Leader, AFCF1), Kadir Osman Gyasi (Senior Agriculture Economist, GFADR), Suhail Kassim (Senior Private Sector Development Specialist, GTCDR), Hannah R. Messerli (Senior Private Sector Development Specialist, GTCDR), Ivan Rossignol (Chief Technical Specialist, GTCDR), John Speakman (Practice Manager, GTCDR), Vera Songwe (Country Director, AFCF1), Jean Philippe Tre (Senior Agriculture Economist, GFADR) and Marie-Chantal Uwanyiligira (Country Program Coordinator, AFCF1) for their valuable assistance, comments and suggestions on preliminary versions of this document. 48 CONTENT CHAPTER 1. MACROECONOMIC PATTERNS: AN UNSTABLE AND MODERATE LONG TERM GROWTH. 54 I. GROWTH PATTERNS. ........................................................................................................................................................................... 54 1.1. An unstable growth. .............................................................................................................................................................. 54 1.2. A relatively weak investment. ........................................................................................................................................... 57 1.3. Recent developments. .......................................................................................................................................................... 59 II. STRUCTURE OF THE ECONOMY. ................................................................................................................................................... 61 2.1. The Agricultural Sector. ....................................................................................................................................................... 61 2.2. Industrial Sector. .................................................................................................................................................................... 62 2.3. Services. ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 62 2.4. Expenditure. .............................................................................................................................................................................. 63 III. TRADE AND CAPITAL FLOWS. ...................................................................................................................................................... 64 3.1. Merchandise and Services Trade. .................................................................................................................................... 64 3.2. Worker Remittances. ............................................................................................................................................................ 66 3.3. Current Account. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 66 IV. GAMBIA’S GROWTH: A SYNTHESIS. ........................................................................................................................................... 69 CHAPTER 2 – ECONOMYWIDE INFLUENCES ON GROWTH: FINANCE, TRADE AND ENERGY. ................... 70 I. THE FINANCIAL SECTOR. ................................................................................................................................................................... 70 1.1. The banking system. .............................................................................................................................................................. 71 1.2. Insurance and Pensions. ...................................................................................................................................................... 73 1.3. Microfinance and Credit Unions. ..................................................................................................................................... 74 1.4. Access to Finance. ................................................................................................................................................................... 75 II. THE TRADE SECTOR. .......................................................................................................................................................................... 78 2.1. Trade in goods and services. ............................................................................................................................................. 78 2.2. Trade policy .............................................................................................................................................................................. 80 2.3. Trade logistics .........................................................................................................................................................................