Is govt seat shift beneficial to ordinary Tanzanians?

What you need to know:

But, while Dar Region/Metropolis boasted 4.364m population in 2012 (up from 1.361m in 1988), Dodoma Region had 2.083m people in 2012 – with the envisaged Capital City being home to a mere 411,000 souls! (up from 204,000 in 1988!)

One surefire solution to a controversy is to tackle it head-on, doing so expeditiously before it leads to an adversity for the stakeholders. One such controversy is the directive to shift the Government from Dar es Salaam – the accustomed de facto capital every which way you look at it – to Dodoma in central Tanzania.
Dar has been the country’s Number One metropolis for generations, from the days of Arabic hegemony, through German and British ‘colonial’ occupation – and to the first decade or so following political Independence from alien rule on December 9, 1961!
No. I’ll rewrite that last bit… Although a formal decision was made in 1974 to shift the Government to Dodoma – thereby making that town the de jure State capital – Dar es Salaam virtually remained the acknowledged capital!
And that was until now, when the tables are about to be turned against that status following a recent presidential directive to shift to Dodoma
The two metropolises are as alike as cheese is to chalk! For starters, Dar es Salaam City and Dar es Salaam Region are virtually the same thing, comprising the three Districts-cum-Municipalities of Kinondoni, Ilala and Temeke.
But, while Dar Region/Metropolis boasted 4.364m population in 2012 (up from 1.361m in 1988), Dodoma Region had 2.083m people in 2012 – with the envisaged Capital City being home to a mere 411,000 souls! (up from 204,000 in 1988!)
That’s despite Dar being smaller in area (614sq.mi) than Dodoma (995sq.mi).
But, demographics apart, Dar is the biggest contributor to the Economy. It’s the leading financial centre and home to national, regional and international activities and interactions, including diplomatic and developmental partnerships.
Never mind that Dar is also the world’s largest and most populous Swahili-speaking metropolis – and the most populous in the East Africa region!
So, while the city has everything going in its favour as the nation’s capital, why this sudden, lightning bolt from what was a clear blue sky, pray?
Apparently, the move wasn’t anywhere in the books (so to speak) of the Government for more than 42 years since the idea was sanctioned by the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Government in 1974 – and 50 years from 1966 when it was broached in Parliament by Mwalimu Nyerere’s younger brother and member of Parliament then, the late Joseph Nyerere!
So, why suddenly resurrect a moribund idea at this time in the country’s socio-econo-political History? After all, it wasn’t incorporated in the ruling party’s election Manifesto for the 2015 Elections. It isn’t on the Government’s 5-Year Development Plan – nor on the Government Budget for the 2016/17 Financial Year!
What returns are there for ordinary Tanzanians from a move that’s likely to cost the country more than a pretty penny? Exactly how much is it going to cost to shift something in the region of 100,000 Government workers from Dar to Dodoma?
In his relatively frank expose on the issue, Pius Msekwa – a stalwart former official of the veteran ruling Party of the Revolution (Chama cha Mapinduzi: CcM) and its Government down the years – reportedly said in a recent interview that past Governments ‘failed’ to walk their talk on shifting to Dodoma for three reasons. One: hiked oil prices, following the 1973 Yom Kippur War and formation of OPEC. Two: break-up of the original East African Community (EAC-I) in 1977. Three: the Tanzania war on Iddi Amin’s Uganda (1978-79)! [See ‘Msekwa aibua siri ya Kuhamia Dodoma.’ JAMBOLeo: Aug. 15, 2016].
Fair enough…!
Msekwa also says that President Magufuli has the requisite intention/determination/ (‘dhamira’) to shift to Dodoma… Again: fair enough.
But, instead of spending around Tsh2trn on the shifting, why not redirect the funds – assuming we have them, anyway – at, say, investing in a plant to further smelt/refine gold ore into silver, cobalt,  copper and what-have-you… A thing which President Magufuli has ‘dhamira’ for as well? We could then use the returms to finance the shift ten years hence!
Alternatively, let us have a national plebiscite one way or another… After all, we ARE a Democracy, right? Cheers!