AfricaPress-Tanzania: CHAMA Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), Chairman President John Magufuli has met with Zanzibar President and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, Dr Ali Mohamed Shein in an internal party meeting held at Chamwino State House in Dodoma.
The meeting which aimed at discussing various matters related to the ruling party was also attended by CCM Vice-Chairman (Mainland), Philip Mangula and Secretary General, Dr Bashiru Ally.
A statement availed to the media yesterday by the Directorate of Presidential Communication Unit said that, after the meeting Dr Shein had an opportunity to pour sand as a symbolic gesture of his participation in laying the foundation stone for the construction of the new State House at Chamwino.
Dr Shein also inspected the progress of the construction work being executed by the National Service Construction Department (Suma- JKT).
The Zanzibar President expressed his gratitude to Dr Magufuli for giving him an opportunity to pour sand on the foundation stone for the new State House, saying that the construction of the offices is honor to the nation and symbolizes self-rule.
“This is what a self-rule means…when we decide to rule ourselves we can do great things for the citizens… this office is for Tanzanians,” Dr Shein said.
He commended the National Service Construction Department for the good work and called upon them to be proud for being given the rare opportunity of constructing offices and the State House of their country.
On Saturday, Dr Magufuli led his predecessors in laying the foundation stone for the construction of office and administration blocks of the State House at Chamwino in Dodoma.
As opposed to the State House in Dar es Salaam which was built by colonialists, the Chamwino State House is being constructed by the government through domestically generated funds.
Mama Maria Nyerere, widow of the first President Julius Nyerere, represented the founding father of the nation, at the ceremonial event, by cutting the ribbon and mixing concrete, symbolising the official beginning of construction work of the envisaged spectacular structure.
Second-phase President Ali Hassan Mwinyi, thirdphase President Benjamin Mkapa and fourth-phase leader Jakaya Kikwete held spades as they joined President Magufuli in laying the foundation stone.
