DAR ES SALAAM, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Saturday officially moved to the country's new capital Dodoma from the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, the presidency announced in a statement.
The statement by the Directorate of Presidential Communication at State House said Magufuli announced his official move to Dodoma shortly after he had registered to vote in the coming civic polls.
"I was in Katavi region (for a working visit) and I have decided to come to my home at Chamwino in Dodoma to register myself for the polls," the statement quoted the president as saying.
"My wife and I have officially moved to Dodoma and we will be seeing each other every day," the statement further quoted Magufuli as telling a crowd that gathered at the registration station at Chamwino.
Magufuli said he was officially moving to Dodoma despite the fact that construction of infrastructure in the area was still incomplete, said the statement.
On Dec. 15, 2017, Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan officially relocated to Dodoma, becoming the second high ranking government leader to move to the new capital from Dar es Salaam after Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa did so in September 2016.
President Magufuli's relocation to Dodoma was in line with implementation of his declaration of shifting to the central region, a plan which was initiated by founding President Julius Nyerere in 1973.
In April this year, President Magufuli inaugurated a new government satellite city in the new capital Dodoma and ordered all ministries to operate from the capital from Monday.
In 2016, Magufuli announced that he will ensure that his government moved to the centrally located capital of Dodoma from the commercial capital Dar es Salaam before the end of his first five-year term in 2020.
Magufuli said shifting to Dodoma was a dream come true after the plan was hatched 46 years ago by founding President Julius Nyerere but the arrangement was not implemented due to various reasons.
On July 30, 2018, Magufuli allocated land to foreign missions and international organizations for their offices and residences in Dodoma.
In 1973, the Tanzanian government announced that the capital would be moved from Dar es Salaam to a more central location to better serve the needs of the people.
But four decades later, the move could not be implemented on various reasons, including poor infrastructure and economic difficulties.
