THE government has highlighted its achievements in fulfilling the promises outlined in the CCM election manifesto for the 2020-2025 period.

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa outlined the various achievements at the extraordinary national congress of the ruling party here yesterday, underlining that government initiatives was fostering economic growth, improving public services and enhancing the living standards of people in the two parts of the union.

He pointed at major strides in port improvements and the standard gauge railway (SGR) as pivotal elements in driving economic transformation, in a report on the implementation of the manifesto from November 2020 to December 2024. 

Since the launch of SGR train services from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma last August, over 1.2m passengers milled in an out of the trains, generating over 30bn/- in revenue by mid-December, he said.

By October 2024, DP World had fully eliminated waiting times for container ships at Dar es Salaam Port, allowing vessels to dock directly upon arrival, he stated.

As a result of these efficiency gains, the average operational costs at the port have been reduced by 47 percent, from 34.52bn/- per month in 2023 to 17.93bn/- per month in 2024, he specified.

Similarly 1,633 water projects have been completed, where the proportion of the rural population with access to water increased from 70.1 percent in 2020 to 79.6 percent in 2024, while urban water access rose from 84 percent to 90 percent, he said.

There was a substantial increase in the education budget, which grew from 312.5bn/- in 2020 to 796.38bn/- in 2024, he said, explaining that the number of pupils in the free education mode has risen, from 14.94m in 2020 to 16.16m in 2024.

Infrastructure improvements have led to an increase in the number of primary schools from 16,656 in 2020 to 19,783 in 2024, with 26 new secondary schools for girls across 26 regions, while in the health sector, 183 new health centres have been built, mostly with facilities for emergency maternal care, he said.

Hemed Suleiman Abdulla, the Zanzibar Second VP, said that 114 schools had been built, with the pass rate for Form IV students improving from 55.4 percent in 2020 to 85.6 percent in 2023. Form VI students achieved a wholesome 99.9 percent pass rate, he told the gathering.

The tourism sector has seen the number of tourists rising from 620,867 in 2020 to 1.92m by November 2024, while tourism revenue surged from $700m in 2020 to $3.3bn in 2024, he said, paying homage to “The Royal Tour” documentary, along with registering the development of 1,695 tourism projects.

Zanzibar has also built large markets and 14 trade centres, along with setting up a seaweed processing plant capable of handling 30,000 tonnes annually. It will guarantee 25,000 formal job openings and an additional 66,000 informal job openings, he said.

In addition, 21 islands have been designated for investment, with 15 already attracting investors, enabling the creation of 424 projects generating over 22,000 formal jobs and more than 100,000 informal engagements, he stated.

There is also a social pension programme for senior citizens aged 70 and above where each recipient gets 50,000/- per month. Those in retirement obtain a minimum stipend of 180,000/-, he added.