Tanzania: Samia Seals Dodoma Milestone, 37 Permanent Offices Ready

What the report says

President Samia Suluhu Hassan is set to inaugurate Government City in Mtumba, Dodoma, in a major step in Tanzania’s long-running move to make the city the country’s permanent administrative capital. According to Daily News, the launch is scheduled for tomorrow and will mark a new stage in the shift from temporary offices to purpose-built government facilities.

The ceremony at Heroes’ Grounds will commission 26 ministry buildings, 11 offices for government institutions and 57.1 kilometres of tarmac roads. The project’s second phase, which began in October 2021, was initially budgeted at 940 billion Tanzanian shillings and has so far cost 698 billion, the article says. The completed facilities are expected to provide permanent office space for 18,510 public servants.

The report says ministries started moving from Dar es Salaam to temporary offices in Dodoma in 2019 while permanent buildings were still being built. Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Palamagamba Kabudi said the new offices are intended to improve working conditions and public service efficiency. The development is also described as following Smart City principles, with renewable-energy features, rainwater harvesting and environmental planning.

Daily News adds that supporting infrastructure includes underground electricity lines, water and wastewater networks, ICT systems, CCTV, a fire station and landscaping. The first phase of Government City, completed in 2019, provided temporary office space that enabled the relocation to begin.