Speaking about the changes, the country's president and chair of the CCM, Jakaya Kikwete, has been keen to stress that in his view they are a crucial step in terms of revitalising the party, a key part of the overall plan of putting it back in touch with the people before the 2015 elections are held. In this respect he has received some support. Speaking to the local press, Dr Elisante Ole Gabriel of Mzumbe University was broadly positive, arguing that the changes were not only a step forward, but that they should drive a change in overall political strategy. However, other political commentators have been more cautious in their views about the changes. Some, such as Dr Benson Bana from the University of Dar es Salaam have argued that changing the people at the top of the party is not the solution but rather that what is required is to reorganise the party at the grassroots level, an area that was its traditional strength from the days when Tanzanian was a one-party state.

While time will show whether the changes will lead to the revitalisation of the wider party, the more immediate reality is that they reflect the current internal politics of the CCM, as the president seeks further to consolidate his grip on the party and to remove those members in key posts closely associated with his former prime minister, Edward Lowassa. However, the limits on this ability to push through a complete change are shown by the appointment of January Makamba, albeit in a less influential position than his father.

There is also an argument that the appointment of Mr Mukama is a political compromise, in that he reflects a safe pair of hands who has not offended any of the party's main factions, rather than a new leader of the party likely to drive through a major overhaul of its structures. However, he is still relatively close to the president, having had an important role in helping draft the CCM's last election manifesto; this document has always been important to Mr Kikwete, who often argues that progress in implementing the manifesto is the yardstick by which his presidency should be judged. Mr Kikwete's confidence in Mr Mukama is also apparent from his recent role as chairman of the parliamentary committee on energy and minerals that oversaw the changes to the country's mining legislation.