For reasons which are unclear, the CCM Manifesto (2025-2030) was a copy and paste of the 50 year national plan. It came as no surprise it was inundated with unprecedented levels of detail. A Manifesto is a mere statement of intents, and is intentionally lean on details but this one was anything but that.
It was festooned with specificities that were tough to even follow let alone implement! Had there been an examination given to all CCM general convention attendees, they would have failed. Many were talking to each other as the manifesto was being unveiled, and one could see energy was sapping due to the lengthy unwinding of the document. It happens all the time when there is an overdose of anything, and this was not different.
This is a recollection of the contents of the manifesto, its strengths and weaknesses. Here we march.
CCM 2025–2030 manifesto.
CCM 2025–2030 manifesto was officially unveiled today (May 30, 2025) during the party’s Special National Congress in Dodoma. While the full text is not yet available in the search results, key themes and priorities emerge from contextual reports and official announcements:
1. Foundation and Development Continuity.
– The manifesto represents the “second and final term” of CCM’s 2020–2030 vision, building on the previous term’s 90% implementation rate in sectors like education, water, and health.
– It integrates citizen feedback gathered through nationwide consultations, addressing unresolved challenges from 2020–2025.
2. Economic Transformation Priorities.
– Strategic Minerals Focus:
Promoting domestic value addition for critical minerals (e.g., lithium, graphite), with licenses conditional on local processing plans.
– Digital Integration:
Deployment of tech-driven oversight in mining (e.g., camera-equipped helmets for gemstone inspectors) and digitalization of mineral sector monitoring.
– Job Creation:
Formalizing small-scale mining and launching the *Mining for a Brighter Tomorrow* (MBT) program to empower youth, women, and marginalized groups.
3. Social Services Expansion.
– Education:
Continuation of fee-free education (early childhood to Form Six), with increased funding (from TZS 312bn in 2020 to TZS 796bn in 2025) and infrastructure growth.
– Healthcare:
Emphasis on reducing maternal/child mortality (e.g., maternal deaths dropped from 556 to 104 per 100,000 live births in 2020–2025) and expanding specialized facilities.
– Water Access:
Targeting universal coverage after rural access rose from 70.1% to 83% (2020–2024).
4. Governance and Institutional Reforms.
– Digital Governance:
Constitutional amendments to formalize virtual meetings and digital party operations.
– Land/Real Estate Regulation:
Establishment of a Land Commission and a Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) to streamline sector management.
– Anti-Corruption Measures:
Enhanced anti-smuggling operations in mining (TZS 17.76bn seized in 2025) and transparent revenue systems.
5. Broader National Alignment.
– The manifesto aligns with Tanzania’s Development Vision 2025, Africa’s Agenda 2063, and the *Mining Vision 2030* (“Mining is Life and Wealth”).
– Foreign policy maintains ties with historical allies (e.g., China’s CPC) while engaging industrial economies.
Key Implementation Tools.
– Technology:
Digital tools for public service delivery (e.g., real-time mining oversight, e-governance).
– Inclusive Growth:
Focus on gender equity (e.g., girls’ schools in all 26 regions) and grassroots economic participation.
The priorities reflect continuity in CCM’s social-development ethos, amplified by tech-driven efficiency and economic sovereignty in strategic sectors.
Major Weaknesses in the CCM Manifesto.
1.0 A Blurred line between implementation and Enforcement.
- CCM weakness is a failure to demarcate policymakers and implementation. The same people who plan are the same who will implement their plans complicating evaluation of achievement.
- Since there is merger between planning and implementation often it is the implementers who profusely measure there own achievement as Kiswahili adage says: “ Mwamba ngoma huvutia kwake..” is instructive here.
- Assessment of implementation since it is done by implementers tend to be skewed towards magnifying achievement beyond reality. Assessment appears as
2.0 A Tome Sabotage follow ups and Implementation.
- Too much is what it says it is. At the beginning of the launching of the Manifesto there were plaudits of quantity as if it is quality. Number of pages, words and paragraphs were auditioned as if that is what it takes to ha e a great Manifesto. The harsh reality is Manifesto devoid of clutter is easier to follow and implement. This is the weakest part of this Manifesto.
3.0 Overambition foils it!
- Too much demand too much which is not available. Our problem is leaders have already apportioned the majority of the recurrent budget to themselves therefore there is very little for further redistribution. This Manifesto is empty save for loans and grants funded development budgets. With our retrogressive democratic space less money will ne available even to fund development budgets.
4.0 Sticking with failed policies of marginalization and stagnation.
- There is no effort to cut the fat, in particular wage bill and fund startups. Whatever statement of intent that target creating jobs for the unemployed youth is a holler.
- Over-dependence on the state’s direct role to address massive poverty and unemployment.
- “Bima Ya Afya” compromises the health of the nation yet there are no plans to abandon it. So, we should expect national health to continue to deteriorate since most people can hardly afford it.
- “Elimu ya Juu” is another area where there will be no change of tack. We shouldn’t expect technological progress when fewer students at universities will access it. There are too many barriers to widen higher education too all, and the current system of laons has miserably failed.
5.0 CCM Manifestos long in symbolism but short in substance.
- CCM campaign machinery would love us to fall into its feints. The gospel truth is history has taught us the major policy initiatives that flip government policy are never in the Manifesto. Such gargantuan policies tend to be matters of second guessing amd afterthought.
- Leasing of Dar-es-Salaam port was never in the 2020 Manifesto amd would never have been implemented had Magufuli stayed alive teaching us CCM is a case of the cult of personality, not institutional in-built thing.
- Salaries for national leaders spouses was not in the 2020 election Manifesto but was legislated all along as if the Manifesto had died with its skipper Magufuli.
- Recruitment of teachers was in the Manifesto but very few were employed while that was dedicated to subsidize infrastructural investments such as SGR, Nyerere H.E.P etc.
- Salary emoluments were marked for significant uptick.but nothing happened to it as employees welfare was sacrificed to fund infrastructure investments.
Concluding Remarks.
Don’t read too much on CCM manifesto since it seldom offers policy her own priorities notwithstanding what is entailed in the manifesto.
One may be forgiven for taking on face value the pomp and the camaraderie that enveloped during the launching of the Manifesto but behind the smokescreen is to imprint impressions of seriousness while there is none to uprooting millions of Tanzania’s youth from the shackles of poverty.
Read more analysis by Rutashubanyuma Nestory
