The Gambia parliament has been asked to investigate the Central Bank over its lifting of restriction on foreign currency deposit. 

Former government minister Momodou Sabally made the call today following the lifting of the ban. 

The Central Bank of Gambia yesterday(31 August) lifted a controversial embargo on deposit of foreign currency.

“Customers can now deposit and withdraw from their FCD accounts in the approved currencies. And that normal shipment of currency resumes with immcdiate effect subject to the usual clearance process,” the bank said in a statement. 

But Sabally, who’s now a senior official of the opposition, told Gambiana that the bank should have explained the whole policy benefits to the country before lifting restriction. 

“When they released that statement yesterday, they should have gotten a parliamentary enquiry to ask them why they did that. 

“What benefit did they see in their rescinded policy and what benefit did it have on Gambians,” he said. 

Sabally continued: “The parliament should have investigated how they did it and to whom did they sell the foreign currency to? Because I know The Gambia lost millions of dalasis during this period of central bank foreign currency deposit ban.

“Let the Central Bank tell us what importance and benefit their policy had for the country? Their policy didn’t affect any change in appreciating the dalasis; rather it only caused the dalasis to depreciate against the dollar and Euro.”

“The bank seized the rights of Gambians. They have violated the rights of Gambians and they should apologise to Gambians.

“Their action was very wrong to suppress Gambians from depositing in foreign currency. The staff at the Central Bank should know that we pay them while they do the job for us. But their action is dysfunctional,” he added.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba