By Hassan Wekesa - Editor
Tanzania – 14 November 2025 - Shortly after the Tanzanian parliament approved his nomination as the new Prime Minister, Mwigulu Lameck Nchemba delivered powerful remarks on Thursday, warning civil servants who are not ready to serve citizens with dignity.
Nchemba looked straight at the packed chamber and promised to work “day and night” with President Samia Suluhu Hassan to put jobs in the pockets of ordinary Tanzanians – especially the eight million young people who wake up every morning wondering where their next chance will come from.
The government plans to work with the private sector to create the job opportunities.
He said that he has experienced poverty firsthand, and not just read about it in books.
“I know what it is like,” he said, his voice steady.
“I lived in poverty for 32 years. After university, I carried bricks and mixed cement on construction sites just to eat. My wife was a “mama lishe” at that time,” he said, referring to a role in which women run small food-eatery businesses to earn a living.
He explained how life was when he grew up in the villages – one where, after coming back from the grazing fields, shelter was quite a problem.
Nchemba said they would use animal skins and hides to cover themselves so that rainwater from leaking roofs would not reach them and spoil their sleep.
The MPs leaned forward with some nodding in appreciation of head of government business determined to serve his nation.
Here was a man who had queued for casual labour, not just read reports about it.
Nchemba, 50, takes over from Kassim Majaliwa, who held the post for a decade.
The new PM thanked his predecessor and promised all MPs – the majority from the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) – that the government would always consider their views, including those from minority parties.
To change the lives of citizens who have entrusted them with leadership positions, the Iramba West Member of Parliament said that all leaders, elected and appointed, must rise to the occasion.
He warned lazy civil servants, arrogant officers, and anyone taking bribes that that would not happen under his watch.
Nchemba warned them in plain Swahili: “I’ll come with a slasher and cut you out like weeds.”
Tanzania has heard anti-corruption talk before, but this time it came from someone who once earned a daily wage lower than some officials’ tea allowance.
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He didn’t forget the little people. Low earners, he said, “deserve respect, not pity.”
He said 8% of Tanzanians live in total poverty, while 26% struggle to make ends meet, but promised that under the stewardship of Dr Hassan, there is an elaborate strategy of 2025 to 2030 to elevate living standards.
Tanzania has a population of about 70 million people, according to worldometers.info website.
He said that when Hassan took over following the death of her predecessor, John Pombe Magufuli, in 2021, she worked so hard to complete the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam to stabilise Tanzania’s electricity grid system.
He said Hassan and former Vice-President Philip Mpango worked to ensure that children learning under trees remained a thing of the past and that hospitals were built in the districts to ease access to better healthcare.
Premised on that, he said it was reason enough for Tanzanians to hand Hassan and Vice-President Emmanuel Nchimbi a resounding victory of almost 98% of the votes in the 29 October 2025 general election.
Critics and main opposition parties in Tanzania claim “there was no election”, insisting that Hassan of CCM vied and competed against her own shadow.
Her two main opponents were barred: Tundu Lissu of Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) has been facing treason charges since April 2025, while Luhaga Mpina of ACT-Wazalendo was disqualified on party-membership technicalities, according to Tanzania’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney General.
The 29 October 2025 elections were marred by protests that rocked several parts of the country.
The United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk earlier this week urged Tanzanian officials to launch an investigation into the cause of the deadly protests and to ensure that victims get justice.
Nchemba, aware of the unrest in the country and the risk of disintegration, has urged Tanzanians to seek God’s guidance and live in harmony.
“Let’s ask God for wisdom,” he urged, “and let peace be our daily bread.”
Nchemba thanked the voters of Iramba who first sent him to parliament, and his family, who “stood by me when I had nothing.”
He said the government would fully support the Speaker of the Thirteenth Parliament, Mussa Azzan Zungu, who was elected to the position on 11 November 2025, taking over from Dr Tulia Ackson. Ackson said she would not defend her position.
Nchemba also sent warm wishes to the President of the semi-autonomous Zanzibar archipelago, Hussein Mwinyi, who was elected on a CCM ticket.
