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Speaking during a dinner gala that was part of year-long celebrations of Diamond Jubilee on June 25, 2018 at Parliament grounds, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said the government needed world-class facilities in Dodoma, adding that the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) has what it takes to help.

Dodoma. The government has extended an invitation to his Highness the Aga Khan to visit Dodoma and help the authorities to come up with some world class investment facilities befitting a capital city.

Speaking during a dinner gala that was part of year-long celebrations of Diamond Jubilee on June 25, 2018 at Parliament grounds, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said the government needed world-class facilities in Dodoma, adding that the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) has what it takes to help.

“We need world-class recreational parks….Looking at the Forodhani Park in Zanzibar, we believe you can construct a big one that befits the status of Dodoma as a capital city….Allow me to extend an invitation to His Highness the Aga Khan to Dodoma when he comes to the country,” he said during an event that was also attended by Parliament Speaker Job Ndugai, his deputy Dr Tulia Ackson, legislators and representatives of various institutions associated with AKDN.

The Diamond Jubilee celebrates the occasion on July 11 when His Highness the Aga Khan succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mohamed Shah Aga Khan, as the Imam of the Ismaili Muslims 60 years ago, at the age of 20.

This year’s Diamond Jubilee of His Highness the Aga Khan will come to its conclusion on July 11, 2018. Mr Majaliwa expressed happiness that the AKDN – which has invested massively in health, education, poverty alleviation, banking and finance, tourism as well as manufacturing sectors - was contemplating venturing into Tanzania’s pharmaceutical industry.

In his remarks, the AKDN’s resident representative in Tanzania, Mr Amir Kurji, promised to work closely with the government in ensuring the realisation of national development goals in areas of health, education, job creation, agriculture and manufacturing, among others.

Detailing some of the network’s development projects in Tanzania, Mr Kurji said plans to construct the Main Campus for the Aga Khan University in Arusha were currently at an advanced stage.

“This project will bring direct investments in excess of $300 million to Tanzania in the coming years,” he said.

When fully operational, he said, the university project would create 10, 000 permanent jobs and teach 10, 000 students per year.

It will also bring multiplier economic impact to the tune of $3.2 billion.

According to him, extension of the Aga Khan Health Services in Tanzania has seen the group injecting a total of $83 million in developing a fully-fledged world-class health care institution in the country.

The expansion also seeks to increase the depth and breadth of the services offered by the Aga Khan Hospital to include comprehensive cardiology, oncology as well as the expansion of existing services such as diagnostics, women and children health, critical care, emergency and trauma, said Mr Kurji.

“As part of the expansion, we have now completed the construction of 23 health centres in various regions across th country. All the centres have been linked with a ditigal network to the Aga Khan Hospital in Dar es Salaam,” he said.