Tanzania’s prospects for securing loans and grants from international financial institutions may be jeopardized by its damaged global reputation, President Samia Suluhu Hassan warned on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, while inaugurating new cabinet ministers following last month’s contentious election.
Hassan, 65, was declared the winner of the October vote by a wide margin, though the election was marred by reports of violence and the exclusion of major opposition candidates. She did not elaborate on what had specifically harmed the country’s standing but acknowledged that recent events had cast a shadow over its international credibility.
“Most of the time we depend on the outside — loans from various international institutions, international banks, but what happened in our country has destroyed our image a little,” Hassan said. “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.”
Rights organizations, opposition groups, and the United Nations have alleged that hundreds of people were killed in clashes surrounding the election, while the government has dismissed those figures as exaggerated.
Observers from the African Union said the poll lacked credibility, citing evidence of ballot-box stuffing and other irregularities. Tanzanian authorities have rejected those claims, insisting that the election was conducted fairly.
Hassan, who has pledged to investigate the violence, offered condolences to bereaved families last week — her most public acknowledgment yet of the crisis that many analysts describe as Tanzania’s most serious political upheaval in decades.
Speaking during the swearing-in ceremony in the administrative capital, Dodoma, Hassan urged her ministers to prioritize domestic resource mobilization to reduce reliance on external borrowing.
In June, the finance ministry announced plans to borrow 8.7 trillion Tanzanian shillings ($3.6 billion) externally for the 2025/26 fiscal year, while the 2024/25 budget projected 5.13 trillion shillings in external grants and concessional loans.
($1 = 2,400.00 Tanzanian shillings)
President Hassan’s remarks reflect growing concern over Tanzania’s international reputation following a disputed election that has drawn criticism from rights groups and foreign observers. As the government seeks to stabilize the political climate, it faces the dual challenge of restoring donor confidence and securing the funds needed to sustain economic growth.
