The Gambia government is to roll out food aid for poor Gambians facing economic hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

“There is another second-round food aid that is coming. It is about 220 million dalasis that is going to be given to the poor,” Central Bank new governor Buah Saidy said yesterday at the bank’s quarterly Monetary Policy Committee press conference in Banjul.

According to him, this support package is geared towards alleviating the suffering of poor and vulnerable families.

In April at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic when the country was put in a stringent lockdown, The Gambia government provided food aid – rice and oil – to help the poor and vulnerable. 

But the distribution sparked criticism among dozens of Gambians who accused the Barrow-led administration of not being “fair” in the rolling out process.

The nation’s ailing economy has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, there is now a D6 billion deficits in the country’s coffers. 

Mr Saidy, who replaced Bakary Jammeh as governor after he turned down President Barrow’s ministerial appointment, is confident that the his fiscal policies will restart the economy.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba