The Central Bank of The Gambia has announced that its new Gambian dalasi notes will start circulating in the market in June.

Speaking during a quarterly press conference in Banjul, the governor of the Central Bank of the Gambia Bakary Jammeh said: “we have come with new bank note but the old ones will still be in the market for the time being.”

He said: “they will still be in circulation until they enter the banks. Once they enter the banks they will not go out. So any money in circulation is valid, we started the public education and very soon it will be in town.”

Mr Jammeh said they are conducting series of public education about the new notes in order to keep people familiar with the new notes, adding that they want to ensure that people are comfortable with the new notes.

Former Gambian president Yahya Jammeh changed the pictures on dalasi paper notes and replaced them with his portraits after his 2011 landslide victory.

But this alteration on all the dalasi paper notes ranging from the 5 dalasi was widely viewed among Gambians as a political motive of Jammeh towards rigid dictatorship.

And in 2018, the central Bank of the Gambia announced that it will remove the portraits of the exile former Gambian president Jammeh and replace it with pictures that are representative of the Gambia’s historical sites and its rich flora and fauna. 

Also a picture depicting the national flag of the country was reflected on each of the paper notes from the 5 dalasi to 200 dalasi.

The 25 dalasi notes have been withdrawn from circulation.

Meanwhile, the committee on monetary policy is to meet on August 29, 2019 for another assessment of the economy of the country.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba