Tanzania's move to shift its capital city
from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma mirrors what South Africa and Nigeria have already
successfully done.
Nigeria took close to two decades to effect a
shift from Lagos to Abuja after completing the design, planning and infrastructural
upgrade to accommodate government departments and workers.
As at 1991, Lagos was the seat of power of
Nigeria and served as both a political and economic capital for Africa’s second
largest economy.
However, due to its lack of room for expansion, then president
Ibrahim Babangida actualised the 1971 plan by military leader General Murtala
Mohammed to move the capital to Abuja.
In the two decades before the move, planning
and architectural executives had worked on an extensive city plan for Abuja
that envisioned two zones: A central zone with government buildings and
cultural institutions on broad avenues and residential and shopping zones.
In 1980, the government, while still
operating from Lagos, started Abuja’s construction.
Within five years, water supply, 525 schools,
health care facilities, and public transport that could accommodate one million
people had been put in place.
In the next three years, the airport and a
university were in place. In 1990, the government announced a public private
partnership with housing developers to put up living quarters not only for
government workers but also the public.
South Africa has three capital cities, with
Pretoria as the administrative capital and home to the President and Cabinet;
Cape Town as the legislative capital, and Johannesburg the financial capital of
the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment