AfricaPress-Tanzania: ARUSHA Regional Commissioner (RC) Iddi Hassan Kimanta has led thousands of residents to sign a condolence book for Dr John Magufuli.
The residents had by 6am on Friday started flocking to the regional commissioner’s office to pay tribute to the departed leader.
Speaking after offering their condolences to their dear leader, some of the mourners said they had lost a true leader in Dr Magufuli, adding that they were grateful to former President for prioritising Arusha in development projects.
“Thanks to him, we now have a big water project which will address water woes in the region,” said Mr Lembris Mollel, a resident of Ngaramtoni.
The project will relieve women of walking long distances looking for water. The 530bn/- water project started two years after Dr Magufuli assumed power.
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) had injected hefty funds into Arusha City’s clean and safe water project and sewage treatment.
The three-year deal will focus on rehabilitating existing water sources and facilities and the construction of new ones, including boreholes and pumping station, the rehabilitation and construction of transmission pipelines and the rehabilitation and construction of distribution pipelines.
Equally, mourners praised Dr Magufuli for the construction of Arusha-Tengeru Dual Carriageway and Arusha Bypass Road at Tengeru.
“The two road stretches have given the city a major facelift and to a great extent has reduced traffic jams,” explained Mr Joseph Bayo.
Mr Bayo, who is also a tour operator, said tourists arriving at Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) wouldn’t have to get to the city en route Karatu and Serengeti, thanks to Arusha Bypass.
“He was nicknamed the ‘Bulldozer’ for a reason,” he added.
