Educated in the United States, the son of a CCM power broker, he recently quit his job as a speechwriter for Tanzania's president, Jakaya Kikwete, to run in Bumbuli.
But instead of strengthening the union, the process may be tearing it apart.A draft based on public consultations was rewritten by a constitutional assembly dominated by members of the ruling Party of the Revolution (CCM).
The Civic United Front is backed by quite a few Muslims on the coast and in the autonomous island of Zanzibar.But they are too weak to topple the all-powerful CCM.
Last month, when Tanzania's ex-president, Julius Nyerere, at last acknowledged the political crisis in Zanzibar, his CCM colleagues were not impressed.
CCM will stay alive with over €2 billion in assets and a 25% stake in the banking business.Mergers among the cajas may be good news for the banks: history shows merged banks lose market share in the short term.
The government pays CCM a capped rate for the care of its members.
Many CCM members participating in the constituent assembly did not support the recommendation of changing to a decentralized government, fearing that the outcome of such a change would favour the opposition, while much of the opposition strongly supported the recommendation; this led to an impasse.
Caja Castilla La Mancha (CCM), a tiny caja the Bank of Spain took management control of last March, is a case in point.
He showed his steel by ousting a long-serving CCM parliamentarian.
Down below, a volunteer updates Mr Makamba's Facebook page on a wireless internet connection.Within the CCM, Mr Makamba is in a minority.
Skirmishes in Zanzibar since the mainland voted in December have been limited, so far, and CCM has made extravagant promises about better schools and health care for the islanders, to try to keep them quiet for another five years.Mr Kikwete says he is proud to represent a "beautiful, peaceful and united nation".
