Mayor of Dodoma

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Mayor of Dodoma
StyleHis Honor
Term lengthThree years
renewable

The Mayor of Dodoma is the head of the municipal government of Dodoma, the capital city of Tanzania.[1] The current mayor is Davis G. Mwamfupe, who took office on 1 July 2016. The City Council members elect the mayor. The Mayor is selected for a three-year term and can be re-elected at a local government election, or may be chosen from within the council at a meeting.[2][3]

During a ceremony to celebrate the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, the first to happen outside of Dar es Salaam since the establishment of the Union in 1964, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Dr. John Magufuli, indicated that Dodoma Municipality would be promoted to Dodoma City. The incumbent Mayor of Dodoma Municipality, Professor Davis G. Mwamfupe, was thus promoted to Mayor of Dodoma City.[4][5] Eight mayors served the municipal government before this change, including Mr. Mwamfupe.

Dodoma as the Capital of Tanzania[edit]

On 1 October 1973, after a nationwide referendum, the Tanzanian government announced that the capital would be moved from Dar es Salaam to a more central location to encourage growth in the region, as well as to provide a more geographically central location for the capital. The cost was estimated at £186 million, and the move was expected to take ten years. The site, the Dodoma region, had been looked at as a potential new capital as early as 1915 by the (then) colonial power Germany; in 1932 by the British as a League of Nations mandate; and again in the post-independence National Assembly in 1961 and 1966.[6][7]

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) invited three international firms to submit proposals for the best location and preparation of a master plan: Project Planning Associates Ltd., of Canada; Doxiadis Associates International, of Greece (who had worked on Pakistan’s new capital of Islamabad); and Engineering Consulting Firms Association of Japan. A fourth firm from Germany submitted a proposal without invitation.[7] The winner, decided by the CDA together with independent American consultants, was Project Planning Associates.[7] Their plan envisioned a city of 400,000 persons by 2000 and 1.3 million by 2020. In 1974, Dodoma had a population of 40,000. The existing population size was not seen as an impediment while existing infrastructure would reduce construction costs.[7]

As part of the move of the government, a capitol complex was envisioned, and multiple designs by different international teams offered competing versions of the layout of a capitol complex. These competing proposals, some paid for by foreign governments as a form of aid, and others by the firms involved were presented as early as 1978.[8] However, it was not until 2006 that the Chinese government delivered a finished parliament building in Dodoma. The final location of the parliament is not where the plan initially prescribed; the intended site is now being developed at the University of Dodoma.[6]

As much of the initial design never came to fruition over the past 40 years, government offices and embassies resisted moving their offices to Dodoma. As a result, many government offices remain in Dar es Salaam, which is the commercial and de facto capital.[6][9]


Current mayor[edit]

Colour key
(for political parties)
Name Portrait Term of office Elected Political party Previous and concurrent occupations
Davis G. Mwamfupe 2016 2020 9 July 2016 CCM Professor

Mwamfupe was first appointed a Councillor on 23 June 2017.[10] On 20 July 2017, he was officially elected as a Mayor of Dodoma Municipal Council.[11][12]

Current deputy mayor[edit]

Deputy Mayor Portrait Term of office Elected Political party Previous and concurrent occupations
Jumanne Salum Ngede 2016 2020 9 July 2016 CCM Businessman

List of former mayors of Dodoma[edit]

Eight mayors served the municipal government of Dodoma from 1980 to the present day, including Mr. Mwamfupe. The table below details their names, the duration of their service, and their dates of birth:

Name Mayoral term Date of birth
FS Lebana 1980–1984
ZM Massi 1984–1994
Peter Mavynde 1994–2001
GY Cheti 1994–2001
FB Mazanda 2006–2010
ES Mwiliko 1994–2001
JM Mwanyemba 2015–2015
Davis G. Mwamfupe 2016–2018 (1956-09-27) September 27, 1956 (age 67)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Dodoma, Nelly Mtema in (2018-06-14). "Tanzania: Dodoma City's Status Lobby in Final Stage-Jaffo". Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam). Retrieved 2018-06-21.
  2. ^ "THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT (URBAN AUTHORITIES) ACT, 1982" (PDF). Retrieved 2018-07-09.
  3. ^ "Key institutions in URBAN local government" (PDF). Retrieved 2018-07-09.
  4. ^ "Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania - Tovuti Rasmi ya Rais". www.ikulu.go.tz.
  5. ^ "Tanzania: Hot Debate in Parliament Over Dodoma City Status". The Citizen (Dar es Salaam). 2018-06-14. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
  6. ^ a b c Beeckmans, Luce (2018). "The Architecture of Nation-building in Africa as a Development Aid Project: Designing the capital cities of Kinshasa (Congo) and Dodoma (Tanzania) in the post-independence years". Progress in Planning. 122: 1–28. doi:10.1016/j.progress.2017.02.001.
  7. ^ a b c d Hayuma, A.M. (1980). "Dodoma: The planning and building of the new capital city of Tanzania". Habitat International. 5 (5–6): 653–680. doi:10.1016/0197-3975(80)90007-7.
  8. ^ "Plan for the New Capital of Tanzania - Introduction". dodomaplan.com.
  9. ^ Callaci, Emily (2016-02-01). "'Chief village in a nation of villages': history, race and authority in Tanzania's Dodoma plan". Urban History. 43 (1): 96–116. doi:10.1017/S0963926814000753. ISSN 0963-9268. S2CID 146410916.
  10. ^ "Profesa UDOM ateuliwa kuwa diwani". Mwananchi. 2017-06-25. Retrieved 2018-07-09.
  11. ^ "Udom lecturer elected Dodoma mayor vows to transform town". thecitizen.co.tz. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  12. ^ "Single News | PO-RALG". www.tamisemi.go.tz. Retrieved 2018-07-09.