Dodoma is the newest city in Tanzania, said President John Magufuli on Friday while addressing to the masses on the occasion of Union Day celebrations attended by several national leaders and diplomats including Zanzibar president Ali Mohamed Shein.
The president added Tanzanian constitution has given him the power to declare Dodoma as a city now.
Friday was the celebrations of the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar about 54 years ago in 1964 when the two countries merged to form a single country, Tanzania.
Since last year Dodoma has been the new venue for Union Day celebration. Earlier the event was held in commercial capital Dar-es-Salam.
Magufuli became president in 2015 and he then pledged to relocated all government offices in the new-elevated city. Most of the government offices are located in Dar-es-Salam even though Dodoma is the capital of the country and where the legislature meets.
The president said government headquarters will be moved to Dodoma before 2020.
Dodoma is centrally located and is home to grapes and wine production. In 2015 the annual grapes production was about 10,800 tones.
Dodoma also houses the largest mosque in the country and second largest in East Africa. Named after former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the Gaddafi Mosque was inaugurated in 2010 can accommodate about 3,000 worshippers.
