Makonda: Right man, wrong circumstances?

Paul Makonda was appointed CCM’s secretary for ideology and publicity, following an underwhelming performance by his immediate predecessor, who lasted less than a year in office at a time of increased political activity where resurgent opposition parties have managed to set up and drive the agenda, sending CCM into a defensive, campaign-like mode.

Is he the antidote against this trend of lost narratives?

His appointment immediately dominated the news. To supporters of the move, he is the right person to counterbalance the narratives coming from opposition parties and drive the agenda of the party and the government it leads.

Others have argued that the party chairperson, President Samia Suluhu Hassan, is playing electoral politics for the 2025 general election by wooing voters from the Lake Zone.

There are also those who think that this appointment is suited to the times because it ‘heals’ the divisions and factionalism within CCM after what appeared to be a purge or sidelining of prominent figures from the previous administration.

To critics, Makonda’s appointment is disappointing and a troubling development for the health of competitive politics.

They argue that his brash and combative style of politics does not go well with the zeitgeist of the time, where it is all about reconciliation and political tolerance.

His appointment is seen as another victory for a faction within CCM that is wary of the rapprochement with the opposition.

They also see his relationship with the media as difficult, adding another layer of complications to someone whose new post requires interaction with the media on a daily basis.

CCM’s constitution outlines the duties of a secretary for ideology and publicity.

However, in this day and age, the party does not need a John Chiligati.

In the multiparty era, where CCM, like all other political parties, struggled to define its political ideology, what has mattered most is its ability to capture the people’s attention long enough for it to matter.

Take Nape Nnauye and Humphrey Polepole, for instance.

Politically speaking, the two belong to two very different wings of their party but are still considered the ‘perfect’ template for CCM’s ideology and publicity secretary because they know how to grab headlines or ensure that facts on the ground do not get in the way of a good story.

One must redefine the narrative if necessary; even in the face of defeat, it should still be possible to spin the narrative to one’s advantage.

They knew how to pick political fights with the opposition and win.

In 2012, when CCM was staring at another terrible performance in the upcoming elections and sagging public support, a new secretariat was appointed, and their task was to reclaim the narrative against the fight against corruption, which had eroded the party’s support across the country.

The new team changed the narrative, took control of it, and successfully claimed that their party was ruthlessly dealing with corruption starting from within by purging those who were accused of the vice.

In reality, the campaign was a resounding failure. But from a public relations perspective, it was a spectacular success.

CCM was once again seen as reconnecting with its roots—that it was on the side of the poor and marginalised.

Heading into the 2020 general elections, the then CCM’s ideology and publicity secretary successfully swept aside concerns of an unfair political field.

He never shied away from engaging leading opposition figures in debates or taunting them at many press conferences, where at times the jibes had no substance to it but easily generated such a buzz that little else mattered.

It came to be difficult to distinguish between a government spokesperson and party affairs as far as publicity was concerned.

It was also around this time that the then-Dar es Salaam regional commissioner, Paul Makonda, held an event that showcased what was described as the successes of the fifth-phase government in Dar es Salaam.

For all intents and purposes, it was a party affair, not a government one. The mood was triumphant. Those who appointed him as ideology and publicity secretary will hope for the same magic to work this time around.

These are different times in many ways than when he was a regional commissioner. Will he be given the political latitude he needs to deliver in changed circumstances? He might be the right person, but the circumstances may prove otherwise.

To succeed, he must perfect the art—to borrow a phrase from a former Arab leader, “dancing on the heads of snakes."