By Faridah N Kulumba
Africa-Press-Tanzania On 14th March 2022, Tanzania’s President Samia Sulyhu Hassan made changes in government leadership as she marked one year of being in office. President Samia was sworn in on 19th March 2021, after the sudden death of President John Pombe Magufuli who died due to heart conditions. According to Tanzania’s constitution, Samia will serve the remainder of Magufuli’s second term which will expire in 2025.
Changes
President Samia appointed ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) former spokesman Humphrey Polepole as Tanzania’s new High Commissioner to Malawi. Mr. Polepole was a close confidante of President Magufuli but lost his seat at the CCM high table and shifted to a backbencher role as a nominated member of parliament after President Samia took over last year.
Others who were appointed were Shamsi Vuai Nahodha, a former chief minister of the Zanzibar Revolutionary Government, as nominated Mp in Mr. Polepole’s place, she also reinstated Nahemiah Mchechu as director-general of the state-run National Housing Corporation (NHC) four years after he was sacked by Magufuli, Peter Ulanga was appointed as chief executive officer of the Tanzania Telecommunications Company (TTCL), and Mr. Kindamba became Njobe Regional Commissioner.
Intuit
Mr. Polepole’s appointment was seen as a move that was designed to mute dissent within the CCM party. His transfer to a foreign posting spelled the end of a period in which he became an increasingly vocal critic of various policy positions adopted by President Samia’s administration. including Covid-19 protocols shunned by Magufuli.
2025 election calculations?
Last year in September, President Samia while in Dar es Salaam confirmed her political ambitions when she revealed that she intends to run for presidency come 2025, and become the country’s first elected female president when she wins. She recalled that her ascendancy into power was by God’s will and more so by virtue of the country’s constitution, and urged all women to ensure that a woman candidate wins the vote outright in the next presidential race.
First year’s challenges related to Samia
Divisions
President Samia embarked on her Journey as the six Presidents of Tanzania beginning her tenure by departing from Magufuli’s undemocratic style. She inherited a divided nation, but during her first days as the president of Tanzania, she created a sense of optimism, not just through her calls for reconciliation and national unity but her candour.
Covid-19 skepticism
By the time Samia was sworn in as President of Tanzania, the country was skeptical about the Covid-19 pandemic due to the fact that the former President Magufuli did not believe that Covid-19 existed. But whatever the soft-spoken Samia did, she was careful not to step on the toes of the hardliners in her party CCM. In a calculated move, she managed to achieve her boldest reversal- the country’s Covid-19 ambivalence and appointed a Covid-19 task force in a country that was declared Coronavirus free by President Magufuli, and this advisory expert committee helped pave the way for Tanzania to join the COVAX program and begin vaccinating its citizens with Samia taking the lead.
Constitutional reforms
President Samia is described as a much more diplomatic figure and she is calm when managing conflicts. But her leadership is under scrutiny over her handling of demands led by opposition leaders for a new constitutional reform. 59-year-old Freeman Mbowe the main opposition leader of Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo party (Chadema) has been behind bars since his arrest by Samia’s government as he prepared to address a constitutional forum arranged by his party, and was later charged with terrorism acts since 21 July 2021 to early March 2022.
The continued harassment of the opposition, arbitrary arrest, and trumped-up charges are a reminder of the inadequacies of the current constitution and the need for constitutional reforms.
