A lot of families in The Gambia rely on private remittances to meet their needs. In other words, they rely on what their children or other relatives send them to buy food, clothes, foot medical bills and so many other needs. In short, private remittances have become the means of survival for many, many families.
It also serves as the cushion for the economy which relies heavily on imports. According to the Governor of the Central Bank the total private remittances stand at 657 million US dollars which exceeds the value of imports.
Without building the productive base of the economy Gambia will continue to import nearly all it needs and export nearly nothing.
