Gambia’s central bank on Tuesday began distributing new 50, 100 and 200 notes in the local dalasi currency which no longer bear the face of former president Yahya Jammeh.
The new notes depict birds on one side and different local scenes on the other, including from a farmer in a rice paddy and a fisherman in a boat at sea.
The central bank governor Bakary Jammeh said the notes bearing Jammeh’s face will be phased out due to expected strong demand for the new ones ahead of Eid al Adha, a major Muslim holiday.
Gambians welcomed the move by the central bank which came more than two years after Jammeh fled to Equatorial Guinea following 22 years in power.
“There are many Gambians who deserve to be on these notes because of their role and contribution in the struggle for independence and development of this country since independence,” a local human rights activist, Madi Jobarteh, told AFP.
Jammeh, who lost to incumbent Adama Barrow in December 2016, initially refused to relinquish power but went into exile after regional states sent troops to force him to step down.
