The Central Bank of The Gambia has directed commercial banks operating in the country to begin a phased localisation of positions currently occupied by non-Gambian employees.
The directive applies across the banking industry, including subsidiaries of Nigerian financial institutions such as Access Bank, GTBank, FirstBank, Ecobank and Zenith Bank.
The regulator set December 31, 2026 as the compliance deadline.
A September 16 circular signed by Second Deputy Governor Dr Paul J. Mendy followed an industry review and a meeting with bank managing directors.
The Central Bank said its study identified what it considered a relatively high number of non-Gambian workers beyond positions formally recognised under the expatriate framework.
According to the regulator, the situation was inconsistent with provisions of The Gambia’s Labour Act 2023 and Guideline 9 governing expatriate employment.
Section 38(1) of the Labour Act requires employers holding expatriate quotas to appoint Gambian counterparts who can understudy expatriate employees, facilitating transfer of knowledge and skills.
The legal framework does not completely prohibit foreign workers. Rather, expatriate employment is subject to quota approval, local-capacity considerations and skills-transfer requirements.
Employers who engage expatriates without required approvals, or fail to provide required understudies, may face statutory penalties.
The directive is significant to Nigerian financial institutions because cross-border expansion increasingly requires compliance not only with banking regulations but with local labour and localisation policies in host countries.
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SOURCE: Lawyard
