Tanzania’s damaged reputation could make it difficult for the country to get funds, the president argues
President Samia Suluhu Hassan warned Tuesday, during the swearing-in of ministers following last month’s contentious election, that Tanzania’s damaged worldwide reputation may make it difficult for the country to obtain assistance from international organizations.
The 65-year-old Hassan, who was pronounced the overwhelming victor of the October election tainted by skirmishes with security forces over the disqualification of her main rivals, did not elaborate on what damaged Tanzania’s reputation.
Hundreds of people were probably murdered in the confrontations, according to rights groups, opposition parties, and the UN, although the government rejects those numbers as being inflated.
The majority of the time, we rely on external sources. International banks and other international institutions have given us loans, but what happened in our nation has somewhat damaged our reputation,” Hassan stated.
“That might reduce our reputation to get those loans easier as we did in our first term…. the bad image we gave ourselves might take us back.”
The poll, according to African Union observers, was not credible, and they had proof of ballot box stuffing. The government has denied that the election was unfair and dismissed criticism of the procedure.
Hassan’s most public recognition of the unrest, which has resulted in the nation’s most political crisis in decades, came last week when she extended condolences to families affected by the election violence and pledged to look into it.
Instead, she advised officials to concentrate on obtaining domestic finances during Tuesday’s ministers’ swearing-in ceremony in Dodoma, the administrative capital.
In the fiscal year 2025–2026 (July–June), the finance ministry said in June that it will borrow 8.7 trillion Tanzanian shillings ($3.6 billion) from outside sources. It estimated its anticipated external grants and concessional loans at 5.13 trillion shillings in its 2024–2025 budget.
