Dodoma shines as it receives fanfare to celebrate 56th Independence Day

History has definitely been rewritten as all roads lead to the capital city, Dodoma, to celebrate the country’s 56th Independence Day turned in a new scenery to grace the Independence day to be held at Jamhuri stadium today. With the epic and historic moment expected to reminiscent the 1961 celebrations, one will easily be forgiven to mistaken the city for a heaven of some sort, after intensive preparations for the maiden event spruced up the scenery. Houses, streets and all roads leading to Jamhuri stadium have been decorated with banners, bunting and national flags to express love and affection of the country’s independence to be graced by President John Magufuli. To ensure that the event goes without ugly incidents, the police in the city, yesterday, revealed to have intensified security, while Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa took time to visit Jamhuri Stadium, to assess the level of preparedness, and said the preparations “were spot on.” Many visitors from all walks of life have thronged the municipality starting mid this week ahead of the colorful ceremony. And, to spice up the day, the Dodoma Regional Commissioner, Dr Binilith Mahenge, promised fireworks today, saying the ceremony will be full of pomp and fanfare. According to him, there will be various displays by the defense forces, performance from various musicians and arts groups amongst others. A snap survey in the city revealed that a large number of stalls were selling national flags, badges and other decorative merchandise. It is the first time Dodoma is hosting the Independence Day celebrations at National level, thanks to President Magufuli who announced it last year. The day will also mark the climax of special programmes organized by private and government institutions in the name of lectures, seminars and dialogues. And, for some time now, the Tanzania People’s Defense Forces (TPDF), the police, traditional dance and the patriotic youth groups have been holding rehearsals in the ground to make sure that the day lives up to Continued from page 1 its billing. Various political, religious, envoys, educational, social, literary organisation representatives and the general public are scheduled to attend the event. The Region Police Commander Gilles Muroto said with the population having increased in the municipality, the police were in full alert to ensure a peaceful and orderly observance of the day.