Dar es Salaam. We are in the election season, with various preparations ongoing ahead of the event on October 29, 2025, where qualified Tanzanians will be required to vote for President, Members of Parliament, and councillors.
The processes within political parties to get candidates for those positions are continuing, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is expected to announce those it will nominate to contest for those positions.
Those commission nominees, however, will ultimately have to go to the citizens to campaign for votes, an exercise which INEC has said will take place between August 28 and October 28 for Mainland Tanzania, before the voting exercise takes place on October 29, 2025.
We visited the Kimara area, Ubungo district, in Dar es Salaam to speak with some citizens, asking them to list the challenges facing them as citizens and their areas, which they would like these candidates to discuss when they come to campaign for votes.
Martine, who is an employee, said the first challenge he would like a candidate who comes to campaign to discuss is that of their street road, which, despite promises to repair it, has continued to remain unrepaired, a situation causing major inconvenience for its users.
“They came and dug it up, as you can see, they dug it up. When they dug it up, they said that they were coming to lay concrete, but since they dug it up until now, nothing has been done,” said this citizen.
“Currently, it’s been two months, and since it was dug up here, they promised that they would dig and lay concrete, meaning they dig within one week, then it stays for a week, the following week they lay the concrete, but until now no concrete has been laid,” Martine continued to complain.
Amiri Hamza lives in Matangini Street, Kimara, and is a small-scale businessman who wishes a candidate who comes to campaign would address education challenges.
“Children are charged all sorts of contributions; today it’s for an exam, tomorrow it’s for another exam,” says Hamza. “Therefore, we parents suffer a lot.”
Mary Kavishe, a resident of King’anzi, Kimara, who says she went there for business, lamented the water challenge.
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“You find us women leaving at ten [or] nine o’clock, carrying buckets, we go to look for water. You are told to contribute money, that pipes will be laid which will bring us water so we won’t have water problems again,” says this woman.
“But there is no water in King’anzi. If you come like today, many people have put buckets on their heads, it’s salty water,” she added. “We ask, are we here in Dar es Salaam, or where are we?”
This water challenge was mentioned by many people we spoke to, including Isabela Amani Mayenge, a resident of Michungwani, Kimara, an area where she said she has been living for 12 years now and until today they have no water service.
“We are forced to draw water from neighbours,” says Mayenge. “If a new administration comes, we will ask it to help us with the water issue.”
Chaula Adam Chaula lives in King’ong’o, Goba Junction, and works as a bodaboda rider. This young man lamented the harassment he and his fellow bodaboda riders face from those who call themselves community police, who he claims have spread everywhere in the city.
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“When we go out there on the roads, there are many buffaloes (slang for aggressive guards) nowadays who call themselves community police,” complained Chaula. “Bodaboda riders do not have the freedom to work. They are afraid to work because of those who call themselves community police.”
“They arrest, they charge a person Sh50,000 Shillings, I don’t know how many shillings,” added the young man. “They even patrol the streets, some patrol with guns just to arrest bodaboda riders. Now we fail to understand why it has become like this?”
Erik Jacob Sauli is a resident of Kimara Mwisho who is engaged in a small-scale business in that area. He lamented for himself and his fellow street vendors, saying: “Many street vendors are having a very hard time, you see? Constant relocation from here to there, so it’s a problem, we have problems.”
Anna Mlengo is a resident of Kimara Baruti who is engaged in the business of selling electric stoves.
“In the education sector, it’s also not good,” says Mlengo. “Because, in school, there are many children in one class, you find them sitting on the floor. Therefore, the situation is not good.”
Veronica Ezekia is a reporter for The Chanzo from Dar es Salaam. She’s available at veronikaezekia22@gmail.com.
