MORE than 14m people have attended the series of campaign rallies featuring leading presidential candidate Samia Suluhu Hassan since the general election campaign was launched late August.

Kenani Kihongosi, the ruling party’s secretary for Ideology, Publicity and Training said at a press conference here yesterday that the leading presidential candidate has so far held 77 rallies across 21 regions, covering the breadth of the country including Unguja and Pemba islands.

 The CCM candidate attracted massive turnouts at every stop, with the party secretariat putting at 14.62m people as having participated in the rallies physically, while another 31.6m have followed those events on broadcast and online platforms, he said.

The high level of public engagement is a strong endorsement of Samia’s leadership record since early 2021 during which she has spearheaded ambitious changes in infrastructure, healthcare, education, water supply and economic activity, he said.

He pointed at the near completion of the Julius Nyerere hydropower project (JNHPP) and major progress in constructing the standard gauge railway (SGR), while expanding the road network by 15,366 kilometres.

The government has similarly procured six new passenger aircraft and one cargo plane for Air Tanzania, implemented 1,633 water supply projects the majority of which serve rural communities, he said.

In the social sectors, the government has built 1,368 new health centres where it increased the number of emergency units from seven early 2021 to 116, while adding 183 maternity and surgical facilities.

The education sector has seen a rise in the number of primary schools to 19,783 from 16,656 and secondary schools to 5,926 from 5,001 earlier, alongside a significant rise in the higher education loans allocations, from 464bn/- to 786bn/- in the current financial year, he stated.

Economic growth has also been steady, climbing from 3.9 per cent by global estimates in 2021 to 5.5 per cent in 2024, with projections reaching 6 per cent by the end of 2025. During this period, over eight million new jobs have been created, he said.

Government initiatives during the period include free treatment for a section of cancer, diabetes and kidney patients; enhanced health insurance for children, the elderly and people with disabilities, while a total of 200bn/- was allocated for a support package targeting small-scale traders.

With 24 days to the end of the campaigns and to the vote on October 29, the president is set to begin a Lake Zone campaign tour, where she is expected to highlight completed projects like the Kigongo Busisi (Magufuli) Bridge, the Butimba water project serving 450,000 residents and the another lake-drawing water project benefiting nearly 87,000 people in Tinde and Shelui parts of Shinyanga Region.

The turnout at Samia’s rallies demonstrates the people’s appreciation for the progress made under the current leadership and confidence in the vision being articulated for maintaining progress and national unity, he added.