Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania over the weekend.
Electoral Commission Announces Major Changes Ahead of Tanzania’s 2025 Election
Just weeks before the nation heads to the polls, Tanzania’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced significant changes to electoral boundaries, nullifying 10 wards and relocating 292 polling stations.
The move, which follows government-led administrative boundary adjustments, has resulted in the disqualification of seven councillor candidates from the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party.
In a statement released on October 12, 2025, INEC Chairperson Justice Jacobs Mwambegele confirmed that the decision was made after a review of two government notices issued on October 3, 2025.
The first notice declared three areas—Ulyankulu, Katumba, and Mishamo—as designated refugee settlements, while the second abolished 10 wards across several districts.
The affected wards include Litapunga, Kanoge, Katumba, Mishamo, Ilangu, Bulamata, and Ipwaga, as well as Milambo, Igombenkulu, and Kanindo. As a result, seven CCM candidates who had been nominated to contest in these wards have been disqualified from the upcoming election.
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Samia Defends Her Record as Tanzania’s First Female President: ‘I have Done Great Things’
Speaking at a campaign rally in Serengeti, Mara Region, on Friday, October 10, 2025, President Samia Suluhu Hassan defended her record as Tanzania’s first female president and sought to win over voters from a region often regarded as highly conservative.
“Fellow Tanzanians, I want to speak to you and say that although we have our traditions and customs, the issue of unity among Tanzanians is a very important matter,” Samia said in her address. “When Almighty God created us, he did not create anyone with a particular head shape or feature to mean that they are more intelligent than others.”
Samia went on to emphasize how social roles have evolved, noting that women today work and take care of their families, roles that are no longer limited to men.
“I began with that story because I’ve started hearing people say that our candidate is a woman, and according to our traditions and customs, we don’t want a female candidate,” Samia explained. “But my brothers and sisters, women will bear pregnancies and give birth in pain, yet when it comes to development, there is no woman or man.”
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UNDP’s FUNGUO Programme Scales Support for Tanzanian Innovators
The FUNGUO Innovation Programme, implemented under UNDP Tanzania, has expanded its catalytic funding to a total of TZS 6.5 billion, marking a major milestone in advancing Tanzania’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Funded by the European Union (EU), the Republic of Finland, and the UK Government (FCDO), FUNGUO is dedicated to investing in innovation for a prosperous Tanzania.
The latest round of funding targets 13 high-potential startups and MSMEs from across the country—empowering them to scale impactful solutions, create decent jobs, and accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Speaking during the unveiling ceremony of the new investees on October 10, 2025, Dr. Blandina Kilama, Deputy Executive Secretary for Trade and Innovation at the National Planning Commission, commended FUNGUO’s contribution to national development priorities.
“The government aims to improve the ease of doing business so that starting and scaling a business in Tanzania becomes simpler, faster, and less expensive. The new Crowdfunding Guidelines are one example we need more such enabling policies,” said Dr. Kilama.
Representing the European Union Delegation to Tanzania, Mr. Marc Stalmans, Head of Cooperation, noted that Tanzania’s growth increasingly stems from the dynamism of its private sector.
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Op-Ed; Two Tanzanias: How Economic Success Stories Mask Growing Inequality
The revelation came during what should have been a routine conversation. I was discussing President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s track record with a prominent hotel owner when our exchange took an unexpected turn.
As we debated the ongoing wave of enforced disappearances plaguing Tanzania, my interlocutor—a man who admitted he doesn’t follow the news—dismissed these incidents with a casual shrug. “They’re just politicians and activists,” he said, as if human rights violations were merely background noise to the real story.
But then his tone shifted to enthusiasm. Despite acknowledging political problems, he insisted that President Samia had delivered “spectacular” economic performance. His evidence was personal and compelling: his hotel now employs 1,700 staff, more than double the 700 he retained during the Magufuli era. Foreign direct investment was flowing, business was booming, and from his vantage point, Tanzania had never looked better economically.
I left that conversation with a nagging question: if Tanzania’s economy is performing so well for some, why do ordinary citizens like myself continue to struggle with rising costs and diminishing opportunities?
The answer, I realised, lies not in conflicting data but in conflicting class positions—and reveals a fundamental truth about Tanzania’s economic transformation under two very different presidents.
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Op-Ed; The Cost of Silence: Tanzania’s Election and the Fear That Stifles a Nation
Truth is often difficult to accept, especially when it challenges our beliefs or way of life. It is a force that unsettles everyone, from ordinary citizens to the ruling elite. How we handle uncomfortable truths reveals our character, and in authoritarian states, the response is often fear and suppression.
When truth threatens the powerful, the consequences can be severe: abductions, brutal killings, and unlawful detention become tools of control.
In less than three weeks, Tanzania will hold a general election. As a first-time voter, I find little meaning in this process. The campaign, amplified through social and traditional media, offers no convincing vision for the nation’s future.
The incumbents’ rhetoric does not promise long-term, positive change for the majority. This leads to a fundamental question: Can genuine justice and social development ever flourish under a climate of fear?
Cruelty is not politics. The urge to silence dissent stems from a loss of moral compass. Authoritarian systems, regardless of location, operate on the same principles: they demand obedience, instil fear, and promote the dangerous idea that some lives matter less than others. Questioning authority is framed as disloyalty, and cruelty is normalised as a necessary duty.
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