The Barrow government has appointed foreign advisers to help put The Gambia’s debt on a “sustainable path”, the finance ministry said in a statement.

“The Ministry … has appointed Potomac Group as the international financial adviser, working with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe as international legal advisers, to assist with the development and implementation of a strategy to put the country’s external debt on a sustainable path,” the ministry said in an emailed statement sent to Reuters.

Ebrima Darboe, director of debt management at the ministry, said the appointments were part of the government’s reform agenda and was expected to boost growth,

“It is the government’s expectation that this initiative will be supported by a broad base of creditors, including creditors that have not provided the debt relief they committed in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries process,” he said in the statement.

Gambia is facing a heavy debt burden due to fiscal indiscipline and poor debt management. The International Monetary Fund warned the Barrow government against any new borrowing after the country’s debt reached 130 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of last year.

Most of Gambia’s debt was contracted under Jammeh, either through borrowing or the government’s taking on the liabilities of state-owned enterprises.

Washington-based Potomac Group is a financial advisory firm specialising in helping governments on sovereign balance sheet issues.