The National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) issued an update on 28 September 2026 regarding the history of boundary pillar funding in The Gambia. According to the NCAC, "Up to the mid-1980s, D100 (one hundred dalasis) was budgeted as Boundary Pillar Protection in our National Budget," but this allocation was discontinued in 1985. Hassoum Ceesay, director general of the NCAC, stated, "Therefore, the D100 budget allocation was cut and did away with by the Bretton Woods Institutions to cut costs for the Government of The Gambia." The council aims to raise public awareness of these markers. The NCAC noted, "As The Gambia moves towards consolidating its National Boundary for sustained development, social cohesion and good neighborliness, the NCAC brings you a pictorial/visual description of the boundary pillars to help you recognize and protect them."
Economic Recovery Programme Impacts
The 1985 budget reduction originated as a requirement of the Economic Recovery Programme, a measure backed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The National Council for Arts and Culture, recounting the explanation provided by director general Hassoum Ceesay, noted, "In that year, the IMF and World Bank came to rescue the Gambian economy, which was in such a free fall that there was acute food shortage as The Gambia had less than 2 weeks of import cover." Hassoum Ceesay stated, "The Economic Programme of the 1980s had a negative impact on thousands of ordinary Gambian public servants who were laid off, but also on our Boundary Pillars because they lost their budget care allocation."
The National Council for Arts and Culture issued an update on 5 October 2026 that featured a photograph of a complete colonial boundary pillar located at Kanjibina village. This visual documentation serves as part of the council’s effort to assist the public in identifying existing markers that have remained without state funding for four decades.
On 12 October 2026, the National Council for Arts and Culture released an additional update presenting five specific examples of boundary pillars and markers. These examples provide further evidence of the state of the monuments that once received financial maintenance under the national budget before the implementation of the Economic Recovery Programme. The council continues to document these structures to encourage local protection and recognition of the colonial-era boundaries.