Tanzania's president, Samia Suluhu, assured Tanzanians that the country is in good economic shape, unlike their neighbours.
Speaking at a rally on International Women's Day, samia suluhu said that the country was in a good state economically compared to its neighbours, whom she did not name.
"My brothers and sisters, I want to tell you that Tanzania is doing well economically. In the entire East Africa region, we are better than other countries, let nobody lie to you. Right now, every country is complaining of dollar shortages while we have enough to last us four months," said Suluhu.
She stated that Tanzania had received requests from neighbours facing dollar shortages to ensure their crude oil imports.
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"Go to our neighbours, they do not have even a two-week supply. We are getting requests to guarantee their oil supplies but we have just been pretending that the situation is bad for us as well," samia suluhu
"We are doing well and our economy will be even stronger if we stay united." she added.
Kenya is among many african countries grappling with a severe shortage of US dollars, which has been attributed to external debt repayment pressures.
The demand for the dollar has recently skyrocketed as importers seek more dollars as global prices for fuel, food, cooking oil, and steel, among other commodities, have risen.
According to data published by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), currency trading reserves fell to Ksh.845.46 billion on March and Ksh.878.76 billion on February 23.
While CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge has consistently downplayed the shortage, 3.69 months of import cover is less than the four-month set threshold.
There are fears of a nationwide fuel shortage, and motorists have been turned away from a few gas stations this week.
