AfricaPress-Tanzania: HIS 2015 first appointment as Prime Minister was a surprise to many Tanzanians.
It was even a surprise to himself, given that he was a relatively newcomer to Tanzania’s politics. His selection was attributed to his humility, honesty, work ethic, being incorruptible as well as regional considerations.
At that time, having a clue over who was going to be Prime Minister in the first five-year term of President John Magufuli was difficult.
Even the president himself was new to that highest office on land. Guessing became difficult and difficult to say the least.
After President Magufuli named Kassim Majaliwa, people were eager to see how he would fit in his style of leadership.
At first, looking at his personality, people perceived him as being cool and soft, a sharp contrast with President Magufuli.
However, in five years of serving as Prime Minister, Mr Majaliwa has successfully built a perfect match with President Magufuli. Perhaps, this might be one of the reasons that the Head of State has re-appointed him for such a high office. His name resonated in the House in the national capital, Dodoma.
After swearing-in Fifth Phase cabinet in 2015, Dr Magufuli set the precedent, and Mr Majaliwa followed the path.
In the past five years, Majaliwa became a strict disciplinarian, fought the cumbersome bureaucracy, waged a relentless battle against the cankerworm of corruption and uprooted inefficient and irresponsible leaders at workplaces.
In his official tours to inspect development projects, he lambasted non-performing government officials, some of them losing their jobs.
Mr Majaliwa even conducted surprise audit trips, not least across rivers and lakes in dug-out canoes to reach out to remote locations to ensure proper use of development resources and good governance.
He proved that he was a strong and firm leader – the perfect to help President Magufuli enjoy his sleep.
Mr Majaliwa enjoyed great public endorsement along with President Magufuli.
His journey to politics did not come over night; he started it from the scratch.
He was born in southern Tanzania district of Ruangwa on December 22, 1960, and completed his secondary education at Kigonsera Secondary School in 1983.
He became a teacher for 16 years until 1999; obtained a teaching diploma from Mtwara Teacher Training College in 1993 and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Dar es Salaam in 1998.
In 1999, he had a year’s study leave for a postgraduate professional diploma in education in Sweden at Stockholm University.
Within the same year of graduation from UDSM (in 1999), Mr Majaliwa became a leader of the Tanzania Teachers’ Union (TTU), an umbrella trade union of teachers that had been formed in the country in 1993.
He served the Union first as a district secretary and then as regional secretary for seven years from 1999 to 2006. In 2006, he was appointed District Commissioner for Urambo in Tabora Region. He remained in this role until his election to Parliament in 2010.
He was first elected to Parliament in the 2010 general election on the Chama Cha Mapinduzi ticket from Ruangwa District.
Former President Jakaya Kikwete appointed him as Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government) from 2010 to 2015.
