Samia's dollar jibe exposes East Africa's economic crisis

President Samia Suluhu Hassan during a meeting with William Ruto (left). 

What you need to know:

  • As the Kenyan shilling weakened, the Tanzanian currency appreciated 0.4 percent against the dollar to Tsh2,310.23 on March 9 from Tsh2,320.64 in January, according to data from the Bank of Tanzania.
  • However, official foreign reserves declined to $4.8 billion (equivalent to 4.3 months of imports) in January, from $5.17 billion.