Tanzania counts post-election losses

Tanzania’s business community comprising, oil marketing companies and high-end restaurants among others, are still counting losses following the chaos that marred the country’s general elections.

As the East African nation comes to terms with one of its darkest periods in history, the business community faced even more grim news when President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced that the election-related chaos had dented the country’s global image.

During the swearing ceremony of her cabinet on Tuesday, November 18, President Suluhu Hassan said that the election chaos could complicate efforts to source funding from the international community and further hurt Tanzania’s development and rebuilding efforts.

Suluhu Hassan, 65, was declared the landslide winner of the October 29 election where security forces clashed with protestors over the exclusion of her main challengers.

Rights groups, opposition parties and the United Nations have said hundreds of people were likely killed in the clashes, though the government disputes those figures as “exaggerated”.

‘Destroyed image’

At the swearing ceremony of her cabinet, President Suluhu Hassan stated: "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."

"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."

Among the businesses that were badly affected by the violence witnessed on election week include energy conglomerate Lake Oil Group which had 38 of its gas stations torched rendering over 300 employees jobless, according to company’s corporate affairs director Stephen Mtemi.

Multinational oil marketer Total Energies, musician Juma Jux’s boutique African Boy, and high-end entertainment hub and restaurant, the Voice where acclaimed Tanzanian singer Diamond Platnumz recently shot a teaser video in collaboration with US singer Ciara, were among the business affected by the election chaos.

President Suluhu Hassan called on the cabinet ministers to look within for development funding as the country regains stability.

As the G20 nation leaders plan to meet in South Africa for the first time on African soil, Tanzania can only hope to draw on gains made last year when President Samia became the first female African leader to participate in a G20 summit.

The G20 is an annual gathering of leaders from 19 of the world’s largest economies that represent 85% of the world’s GDP. Leaders of the G20 countries including Türkiye, France, USA, China and Germany, will convene in Johannesburg under the theme solidarity, equality and sustainability.