Banjul, Sept. 21, 2026 – The Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) has given all commercial banks in the country up Dec. 31, 2026 deadline to replace non-Gambian employees with suitably qualified Gambian nationals.
The directive also affected Nigerian bank subsidiaries operating in the Gambia.
The Nigerian banks are Access Bank, GTBank, FirstBank, Ecobank and Zenith Bank.
The CBG gave the directive in a September 16 circular signed by the Second Deputy Governor, Dr. Paul J. Mendy.
It said the directive followed a meeting between the apex bank and chief executives of all commercial banks in the country on August 27, 2026.
The Gambia apex bank said an industry-wide study on the employment of non-Gambian personnel in the banking sector revealed a “relatively high number” of non-Gambians employed by banks beyond staff formally recognised as expatriates.
It said the practice contravened provisions of The Gambia’s Labour Act 2023 and is inconsistent with Guideline 9 governing the employment of expatriate staff in the banking industry.
“Consequently, all banks are required to adopt a phased approach to replacing existing non-Gambian staff with suitably qualified Gambian nationals, with appropriate arrangements for skills transfer and continuity of operations,” it said.
The apex bank directed the banks to complete the transition by December 31, 2026, while ensuring that the process does not disrupt banking operations or result in the loss of critical institutional knowledge.