ARUSHA, Tanzania, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Thursday declared Dodoma as the sixth city in the east African nation pending other legal procedures.
Addressing the nation in the event to mark the Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar on Thursday, Magufuli said the capital-designate will cease to be a municipality with immediate effect.
This brings the total number of cities in the United Republic of Tanzania to six. Other cities include Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Tanga, Mbeya, and Arusha.
In Tanzania, city and municipality differ in terms of size, population, infrastructures, transport, social services. A city must have a population of more than 1,000,000 people, with a size of more than 130sqkm, with improved road networks, and transport system as well as better social services.
"With powers bestowed on me, I declare Dodoma a city and call on the relevant authorities to follow the due legal process to implement the decision," Magufuli told the gathering.
He said that Dodoma will be a city of its own kind by the fact that it is at the centre of the country, calling on various stakeholders to help build it to that status.
Magufuli also urged residents to accept the changes and help the government develop the town to city status.
The president singled out the African Development Bank (AfDB), whose president Akinumwi Adesina also attended the celebrations to help build the youngest city in the country, especially on the construction of ring roads.
He thanked Adesina for attending the celebrations, acknowledging that AfDB has contributed immensely in building the nation and the entire continent.
"The bank is on the forefront in providing financial and technical support and Tanzania is one of the countries who have benefited a lot from the support,"said the president.
The union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar, reached by founding leaders of Tanganyika's Julius Nyerere and Zanzibar's Abeid Karume 54 years ago, is what resulted into the creation of the United Republic of Tanzania.
