TANZANIA APRM SENSITISATION PROJECT

The report identifies systemic governance challenges in Tanzania, including tensions over the union structure between the Mainland and Zanzibar, executive dominance over the judiciary and legislature, and restrictive laws curtailing civic space and media freedom. It highlights significant barriers to justice for marginalised groups, high youth unemployment, and extreme vulnerability to climate change, while calling for constitutional reform, enhanced public financial accountability, and the protection of human rights.

• The union structure between Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar remains a source of friction, with debates persisting over whether to maintain the two-government system or shift to a three-government structure to better balance autonomy and representation.
• Tanzania's 1977 Constitution is viewed as unfit for purpose, having been designed for a mono-party socialist order, and the process for constitutional reform has stalled since 2014.
• Executive dominance and the ruling party's influence undermine the separation of powers, with instances of executive officials nullifying judicial decisions.
• The electoral system lacks independence, as the president appoints the heads of electoral authorities and there is no legal mechanism to challenge presidential election results in court.
• Access to justice is severely hindered by economic barriers, geographical distance to courts, and a lack of legal literacy, particularly for women and rural populations.
• Repressive legislation, including the Cybercrimes Act and the NGO Act, is used to suppress dissent, restrict funding for CSOs, and curtail freedom of expression.
• Media freedom is curtailed through the revocation of broadcast licences, arrests of journalists, and the use of the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) to intimidate critics.
• Youth face significant economic exclusion and unemployment, with a mismatch between educational curricula and the skills demanded by the modern labour market.
• Tanzania is highly vulnerable to climate change, losing an estimated 2% of its annual GDP to climate-related disasters, yet it suffers from poor sectoral coordination and a heavy reliance on external financing.
• Public financial management is marred by corruption and a lack of transparency, with 'red flags' for corruption in public authorities reaching TZS 2,015.78 billion in 2021/22.
• The government has implemented several legal aid initiatives, such as the Legal Aid Act 2017 and the 'Mama Samia Legal Aid Campaign' (2023–2026), to improve access to justice for indigent populations.
• The Court of Appeal established a landmark precedent in Attorney-General v Rebeca Z. Gyumi by ruling that the minimum marriage age must be 18 for both boys and girls.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2025). TANZANIA APRM SENSITISATION PROJECT. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SAIIA_SR_TANZANIAAPRM.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. TANZANIA APRM SENSITISATION PROJECT. 2025. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SAIIA_SR_TANZANIAAPRM.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=TANZANIA APRM SENSITISATION PROJECT |date=June 2025 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SAIIA_SR_TANZANIAAPRM.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2025tanzania, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{TANZANIA APRM SENSITISATION PROJECT}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SAIIA_SR_TANZANIAAPRM.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }