What does January Makamba's appointment to Tanzania's foreign docket add to President Hassan's expanding diplomatic chessboard?
The late President John Magufuli's isolationism harmed Tanzania's diplomatic standing. The headquarters of the Organisation of African Unity's Liberation Committee via which was founded the Frontline states that successfully fought white minority rule in southern Africa, a leader of the global pan-Africanist movement and one of the most vocal and principled voices in the Non-Aligned Movement, Tanzania appears to have progressively lost its voice under consecutive leaders of the post-Nyerere era - a state of enveloping insularity that reached its nadir under Magufuli.
By the end of the Magufuli era, where once Dar es Salaam was considered the elder brother of the liberation struggle across east, central and southern Africa, its influence in regional affairs was vastly diminished. It is difficult to say how much of it can be attributed to Magufuli's reluctance to travel. However, whatever his willed isolationism cost him on the regional and international arenas, at home it cemented his image among ordinary folk as an authoritarian nationalist, willing to forego the prestige of foreign travel to safeguard the public good.
The appointment of Samia Suluhu as the Tanzanian President in March 2021 following Magufuli's death began a process of eclipsing many of his policies. She began travelling extensively within and outside Africa - foreign travel was almost forbidden under Magufuli, he himself refusing to take any trips outside the continent, quite likely on doctor's orders - to restore bilateral ties with partners from Beijing to Washington and Pretoria.
Her message has been evident in all her foreign visits: Tanzania desires to engage in international trade as the cornerstone of the country's economic diplomacy and be part of the world in seeking solutions to current global challenges. Such challenges include the climate emergency, supporting humanitarian intervention, and using the continental union to advocate the African vision for a global order based on the principle of equality.
The rise of a new foreign minister
The appointment of charismatic politician, January Makamba as the Foreign Affairs minister on 30 August 2023 is primarily seen as part of her efforts to demonstrate to sceptical international partners how determined Tanzania is to reclaim its seat as a regional powerhouse.
Most observers of Tanzanian politics considered Minister Makamba as President Samia's first choice for foreign minister since she assumed office.
First, he has more diplomatic experience than any minister in the current government. At 21, he spent his high school gap year volunteering in refugee camps in north-eastern Tanzania, during an influx of refugees because of the Second Congo War in 1998.
In Makamba's political memoir titled, "40 Questions 40 Answers: A conversation with January Makamba" released in January 2015, when he first sought the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) presidential nomination, he described his experience as an assistant camp manager of one of then Africa's largest refugee camps with over 100,000 refugees. It was an experience that caused him to change his mind from studying economics to considering a career in diplomacy.
"I wanted to be part of the global efforts to avert wars and search for peace," he is quoted in the book as saying.
After completing his first degree in Peace Studies at Saint John's University in Minnesota, United States, he took a master's degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University's School for Conflict and Resolution in 2004.
An internship at the Carter Centre followed, after which he returned home and joined the Foreign Affairs ministry. Then, he served as a Foreign Service officer, reporting directly to the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jakaya Kikwete, who remains one of the country's most respected holders of that portfolio.
Tanzania assumed regional and global roles in peacekeeping and conflict resolution, and Makamba gained first-hand experience in the implementation of the country's foreign policy. After Jakaya Kikwete was elected President in 2005, Makamba became his senior aide until he embarked on his own political career in 2010.
Makamba's appointment to the foreign docket was inevitable
Makamba and Samia were both sidelined by President Magufuli. Although Magufuli could not remove Samia from her position as vice president, Makamba was dismissed from the cabinet as environmental and union affairs minister without clear reasons in July 2019. It was anticipated that the CCM would nominate Makamba to run for the presidency in 2025 if Magufuli had served two full terms. However, Magufuli's untimely death meant that Samia is serving her first term as president. According to the ruling party's conventions, a president must serve two full terms of 10 years in total, and Samia is expected to receive a unanimous endorsement from the party for her candidacy in 2025. Therefore, Makamba is anticipated to support Samia in 2025 and wait until 2030 for his turn to seek the ruling party's nomination for the presidency.
Makamba is the third minister to serve in the position under President Samia. Ambassador Liberata Mulamula held the job for one year, and her successor, Dr. Stergomena Tax, served for less than a year.
Many political analysts believe that he was always the President's top pick for this role. He is likely the only minister whom the President trusts fully, given that he had previously served as her minister in the Vice-President's Office for four years.
At the same time, she wanted the $40 billion Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and the Sh6.55 trillion Julius Nyerere Hydroelectric Power Plant, which is expected to generate 2,115 megawatts of power, to be expedited. She, therefore, appointed Makamba to the energy portfolio in September 2021 to help deliver the projects.
The energy ministry has been a political graveyard for many ministers over the years, but Makamba managed to serve in the docket unscathed for two years, a significant feat.
With the LNG agreements now finalised and the hydro dam 90 per cent complete, she has drafted the person she always wanted to serve as her Foreign Affairs minister, having run through two ministers in 30 months. People close to the President are known to have complained that the foreign affairs docket has not complemented her efforts to open the country to the rest of the world again.
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The President is content that a strong foundation has been established in the energy sector. Under the leadership of Makamba, the sector has undergone dramatic reforms. As a result, she feels confident enough to move Makamba to help with foreign affairs.
Being aware of the blunders the government has made in its foreign policy in the past few years, Samia went as far as appointing a special committee to review the performance of the ministry with the view to making changes.
Makamba takes over a docket beset with low morale and depleted capacity after the neglect of diplomacy and the relegation of foreign relations to the backburner during President John Magufuli's reign.
In a paranoid belief that the ministry was stacked with protégés of his political opponents, Magufuli had purged the most capable and seasoned diplomats, some of whom were assigned to work in local governments in remote regions in roles not suited to r their training and experience.
Senior aides to the President have intimated that she wants a vigorous economic diplomacy push and the resumption of Tanzania's leadership in regional and continental affairs.
She sees diplomacy as an instrument for the delivery of foreign direct investment and projection of Tanzania's influence around the world. Always seen as a serious reformer, with a personal charm to match, Makamba is expected to deliver on President Samia's wishes.
As the No 2 diplomat, he has his work cut out for him because of the level of access and trust he enjoys from Diplomat No. 1.
Emmanuel John is a journalist based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
