Tanzanian government to move offices to Dodoma

Tanzanian government to move from Dar es Salaam to country's capital.

Tanzanian premier Kassim Majaliwa has confirmed that government offices will move from Dar es Salaam to the capital Dodoma by September, with parliamentary standing committee meetings beginning in Dodoma on 22 August.

The government's move to Dodoma was first proposed in 1973 by the nation's founding president Julius Nyerere, who switched the capital from Dar es Salaam to the centrally-located Dodoma. Relocation started in the 1980s and should have been completed by 2005.

However the relocation has been delayed for over four decades for various reasons including lack of funds and poor infrastucture around Dodoma. At present only Tanzania's parliament is located there.

Prime minister Majaliwa's confirmation of the government's move came after the nation's president John Magufuli pledged that the seat of the government would move to Dodoma within five years of his presidential term, which ends in 2020.

Providers of state utilities such as water, electricity and telecommunications quickly followed suit, announcing plans to upgrade and expand their services in the Dodoma region within 100 days.

The country's Capital Development Authority (CDA) has estimated the cost of moving the government seat from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma at about $500 million.