Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE ruling CCM candidate, President Samia Suluhu Hassan, yesterday launched her party’s campaign for the 2025 General Election with a firm call for Tanzanians to renew the party’s mandate, pledging to continue driving social and economic transformation in the years ahead.
The launch, held at Tanganyika Packers grounds in Kawe, Dar es Salaam, drew thousands of supporters clad in green and yellow as CCM officially flagged off its campaign trail ahead of the October 29 polls.
Taking the podium, President Samia told supporters that CCM was returning to seek the people’s mandate because of two main reasons.
“First, because we have performed well and fulfilled the 2020–2025 election manifesto. Second, because we believe in our ability to continue serving this nation,” she said.
Reflecting on the state of the country when she assumed the presidency in 2021, she said, Tanzania then needed consensus between government, political leaders, activists, business stakeholders, the international community and citizens at large.
“While I cannot say we have done everything in the manifesto, I can confidently say that we have done great things to rebuild our nation and restore the stability Tanzania is known for,” she said.
In his address, the party’s running mate Ambassador Emmanuel Nchimbi promised to stand ready to support CCM mission.
He assured the gathering of his readiness to serve. “I am ready, I am fit to execute your directives and those of our party to secure victory and thereafter, work tirelessly to implement the manifesto,” he said, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.
Achievements of 2020– 2025
The president highlighted achievements in democracy, peace and governance under the 4R philosophy, which she said had safeguarded Tanzania’s reputation as a stable country.
According to her, the Global Peace Index 2025 ranked Tanzania as the most peaceful nation in East Africa.
“Our Union has been strengthened, our revolution safeguarded and our stability consolidated, these are our foundations and the bedrock of our nation’s development,” she said.
On media freedom, she cited reforms to the 2016 Media Law. “We reopened newspapers that had been suspended and allowed new licences. In total, 1,068 newspapers, 356 journals, 247 radio stations, 68 television stations, 325 online outlets and 72 blogs have been licensed. This is what freedom of information means in practice,” she said.
On governance, she pointed out that “Tanzania moved from position 87 in 2021 to 82 in 2025 on global anti-corruption rankings,” while audit performance also improved. “Adverse audit opinions dropped from 10 in 2021 to just one in 2025, and qualified opinions from 81 to five. This proves our commitment to prudent use of public resources,” she said.
Turning to the economy, President Samia stressed that Tanzania had weathered the shocks of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war. “Per capita income grew from 1,104 US dollars (about 2.87m/-) in 2021 to 1,252 US dollars (about 3.26m/-) in 2024. Domestic revenue collections doubled from 1.5tri/- to 3tri/- by 2025. Foreign reserves rose from 4.8 billion US dollars (about 12.48tri/-) to 7.1 billion US dollars (about 18.46tri/-),” she said.
She added, “Our Gross Domestic Product rose from 156.4tri/- in 2021 to 205.84tri/- in 2024, and the budget increased from 34.9tri/- to 56.49tri/- in the same period. Our public debt remains at 46 per cent of GDP, the lowest in the East African Community.”
In mining, she told the rally that small-scale gold production had risen from 40,825 kilos in 2021 to 61,680.81 kilos in 2025.
“The contribution of artisanal miners has doubled, from 20 per cent of gold exports in 2020 to 40 per cent in 2024,” she said.
Diamond output grew from 213,948 carats to 373,252.76 carats, while mineral plants rose from two in 2020 to nine in 2025. Licences also increased from 7,669 in 2021 to 12,009 in 2024.
She described tourism as a proud achievement with arrivals increasing from 1,409,800 in 2020 to 5,360,247 in 2024. “Earnings from foreign tourism grew from 700 million US dollars (about 1.82tri/-) to 3.9 billion US dollars (about 10.14tri/-). Domestic tourism grew from 46.3 million US dollars (about 120.38bn/- ) to 209.8 million US dollars (about 545.48bn/-). This sector is creating jobs for thousands of our youth,” she said. Agriculture, she said, had been strengthened by raising the ministry’s budget from 294bn/- in 2021 to 1.24tri/- in 2025.
“Fertiliser distribution increased from 678,017 tonnes to 1,213,718 tonnes, supported by subsidies worth 708bn/-. We have built the ITRACOM fertiliser plant in Dodoma with capacity of one million tonnes per year and strengthened Minjingu in Manyara,” she added.
Infrastructure was another area of progress. “We signed a 1.4 billion US dollar (about 3.64tri/-) PPP (public, private partnership) with CCECC (China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation) to modernise TAZARA,” she said. “At the Dar es Salaam Port, cargo handling expanded from 17 million tonnes to 27.76 million tonnes. Customs revenue grew from 7tri/- to 8.26tri/- and container volumes from 17,000 to 25,000 per month. Turnaround time fell from 46 days to seven for general cargo and from ten days to three for containers.”
She added that 12 airports had been rehabilitated, passengers increased from 5.52 million in 2020 to 7.27 million in 2024, and the Air Tanzania fleet expanded from eight aircraft to 14 in 2025.
First 100 days and looking ahead
Outlining priorities for her next term, President Samia said the first 100 days will focus on health, education, jobs and accountability.
She pledged that the Universal Health Insurance Law will be piloted, covering elderly people, children, pregnant women and persons with disabilities.
“The government will also fully fund specialised tests and treatment for poor citizens with cancer, kidney, heart, diabetes, orthopaedic and neurological conditions, we will recruit 5,000 health workers, including nurses and midwives, to improve maternal and child health services,” she said.
She added, “Another step will be to ban any hospital in the country from withholding the bodies of deceased patients from their relatives, simply because treatment costs have not been paid. We will introduce another mechanism to ensure families settle medical debts without denying them the right to bury their loved ones.”
On education, she said, “We will ensure every child is capable to write and count by the end of Standard Three. To achieve this, we will recruit 7,000 new mathematics and science teachers and align VETA and university training with labour market demands.”
“We will set aside 200bn/- to support small businesses and startups. The informal sector, mama lishe (food vendors), bodaboda (motorcyclists riders), bajaji (tricycle riders) and other entrepreneurs, will be formalised to widen opportunity and protection. We will also develop district-level ‘industrial streets’ to create jobs and add value to agriculture, livestock, fisheries, forestry, minerals and construction materials.”
Looking at infrastructure, she said they will implement the National Water Grid, drawing from Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Nyasa and major rivers, to secure reliable water for households, agriculture and business, also expand clean cooking energy programmes to reduce dependence on firewood and charcoal.
“We have opened a new chapter of hope for our nation and the journey to implement Vision 2050 has begun. Together, let us secure victory for CCM and continue the transformation that directly improves the welfare of our citizens.”
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