Tanzania's president shuffles cabinet and the speaker resigns

President Samia Suluhu swore in new appointees yesterday (10 January) to complete her second cabinet reshuffle since she took charge from John Magufuli in March 2021. Suluhu was rattled by parliament speaker Job Ndugai’s criticism of government borrowing two weeks ago, and so the purpose of this shakeup was to restrain figures that the president perceived to be disloyal to her. Speaker Ndugai himself resigned last week after Suluhu rejected his apology and MPs of their party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) pledged loyalty to the president.

The pace and direction of policymaking will remain stable despite this shakeup. In fact, Suluhu has broadened her political capital within the ruling party by sidelining Magufuli’s allies and co-opting a faction that developed under ex-president Jakaya Kikwete. By this, she is paving her path toward the presidential election in 2025 while governance continues smoothly.

Significance – Party supremacy

Suluhu’s first major role in national politics was as a minister of state in Kikwete’s administration (2010 to 2015). Officials who belong to the Kikwete faction of the CCM have now been elevated in the Suluhu administration, while those who held prominent roles under Magufuli have either been removed or reassigned. For example, George Simbachawene, who initially served in Kikwete’s government alongside Suluhu, has replaced Magufuli’s close ally Palamagamba Kabudi as legal affairs minister. Kikwete’s own son Ridhiwani has also been promoted to deputy lands minister while Magufuli’s nephew Dotto James has been removed as permanent secretary for the finance ministry.

Speaker Ndugai’s resignation for dissent underpins the CCM’s supremacy as a state organ. The party won nearly all elective seats in parliament in 2020 as Magufuli effectively remoulded the political system into one-party rule where the president (who is also the CCM chairperson) is the unquestioned leader. Suluhu expects this dynamic to be sustained – and the parliament will continue to function that way under Ndugai’s successor. Deputy Speaker Tulia Ackson is one of four MPs who are now vying to succeed Ndugai. She said yesterday, “Although parliament has the authority to make laws, advise and [supervise] the government…it cannot go against the executive.”[1]

Outlook - Smooth path

Parliament will vote a new speaker when it resumes in February, but it will ultimately be a CCM choice approved by Suluhu and the president will continue to direct the pace and nature of legislation. Similarly, the shakeup within the executive arm will make no change to government effectiveness. Most significantly, it will firm Suluhu’s authority in the CCM and help to smooth her path toward election in 2025.

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[1] Tulia Ackson joins the race to replace Ndugai (January 2022). Citizen.

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