By Omar Bah
The Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) has ordered all commercial banks to immediately replace foreign workers with qualified Gambians.
In a hard-hitting circular dated September 16, 2026, signed by Second Deputy Governor Dr Paul Mendy, the regulator gave banks an ultimatum to complete full transition to local talent by December 31, 2026.
The directive follows an industry-wide investigation after an executive meeting with bank Managing Directors on August 27, 2026. The CBG audit uncovered widespread reliance on foreign personnel outside standard expatriate allowances — a practice the regulator says violates The Gambia’s Labour Act 2023 and Guideline 9 on Expatriate Staff.
While the order applies to all banks, the biggest impact falls on Nigerian multinational subsidiaries that dominate Gambian banking.
For decades, giants like GTBank Gambia, FirstBank Gambia, Access Bank, and Zenith Bank Gambia have deployed middle-management, IT, risk and operational leads directly from Lagos to run operations in Banjul.
That model is now illegal.
Under the new CBG mandate, banks must immediately design structured succession and skills-transfer plans. The regulator insists operational continuity must be maintained, but warns non-compliance will not be tolerated.
A senior manager of one of the affected banks told The Standard yesterday that the four-month deadline presents severe hurdles for foreign parents’ talent pipeline pressure.
“With this order, banks must rapidly source, train and promote Gambians into specialised technical and managerial roles previously held by seconded Nigerians.”
The senior banker added that core systems in IT, risk management and operations must be handed over to locals at speed.