{"id":94366,"date":"2026-02-18T07:59:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T07:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/barrow-urges-investment-in-local-industries-to-reduce-imports"},"modified":"2026-02-18T08:23:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T08:23:35","slug":"barrow-urges-investment-in-local-industries-to-reduce-imports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/barrow-urges-investment-in-local-industries-to-reduce-imports","title":{"rendered":"Barrow Urges Investment in Local Industries to Reduce Imports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\"> <strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. <\/strong> <\/span><b>President Adama Barrow has emphasised the need for The Gambia to shift from import dependency to local production, highlighting Gach Global Manufacturing Company\u2019s investment as a significant step forward.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>During a visit to the company\u2019s headquarters in Banjulinding, Barrow stressed that the country\u2019s reliance on imports makes it a liability, and local production is key to competing and growing the economy.<\/p>\n<p>President Barrow praised Gach Global\u2019s investment, describing it as an industrial park that will create numerous jobs and boost the national economy.<\/p>\n<p>The Gambian leader emphasised the private sector\u2019s role in driving economic growth and job creation, urging a shift from government-led to citizen-led development.<\/p>\n<p>He encouraged Gambians abroad with financial capacity to invest in The Gambia, assuring protection and promotion of citizen participation in business.<\/p>\n<p>The president\u2019s visit underscores the government\u2019s commitment to promoting local production and private sector growth.<\/p>\n<p>The Gambia\u2019s economy is showing promising signs of growth, with a projected GDP growth of 5.6% in 2026, driven by improved macroeconomic stability, agricultural productivity, and tourism. The 2026 budget, worth D36.49 billion, focuses on human capital investment, with allocations to education, health, and agriculture increasing by 13%.<\/p>\n<p>D18.6 billion allocated to health, education, and agriculture, representing 35.3% of the budget.<\/p>\n<p>Fiscal deficit is projected to narrow to 1% of GDP, with debt service accounting for 30% of the budget.<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Tax revenue expected to increase by 28%, driven by digital tools and improved tax administration.<\/p>\n<p>The government aims to strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation, improve spending efficiency, and invest in infrastructure and human capacity to drive economic growth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">Find more news and analyses on <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Gambia<\/span> on the <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. President Adama Barrow has emphasised the need for The Gambia to shift from import dependency to local production, highlighting Gach Global Manufacturing Company\u2019s investment as a significant step forward. During a visit to the company\u2019s headquarters in Banjulinding, Barrow stressed that the country\u2019s reliance on imports makes it a liability, and local [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":94365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-94366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Barrow Urges Investment in Local Industries to Reduce Imports - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press - Gambia. President Adama Barrow has em ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/barrow-urges-investment-in-local-industries-to-reduce-imports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Barrow Urges Investment in Local Industries to Reduce Imports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press - Gambia. 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