Zanzibar President and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi, has reiterated the government’s commitment to improving access to quality health services while ensuring health workers live closer to the communities they serve, a move aimed at strengthening service delivery across the islands.
Speaking on December 31, 2025, during the inauguration of staff residential houses at Kitogani Hospital in South Unguja, President Mwinyi said the initiative reflects the government’s broader strategy of investing not only in health infrastructure, but also in the welfare of frontline workers.
The President directed that all construction projects for government staff housing should be supervised by the Zanzibar Housing Corporation (ZHC), saying this would improve efficiency, reduce costs and ensure projects are completed on time and to the required standards.
He instructed the Ministry of Health to concentrate on building hospitals and improving health services, noting that staff housing falls under the core mandate of ZHC.
President Mwinyi said ZHC has the technical expertise and institutional capacity to manage housing projects effectively, adding that centralised supervision would help address long-standing challenges related to delays and high construction costs.
He noted that the government has already completed the construction of health centres and district hospitals in all 11 districts of Zanzibar and is now focusing on completing regional hospitals in all five regions.
In addition, he said the government is implementing three major referral hospital projects: the new Mnazi Mmoja Hospital, the Binguni Cancer Treatment Hospital and a Teaching Hospital to be built at Binguni. He stressed that staff housing will be an integral part of all these major health facilities.
On the Kitogani project, President Mwinyi said the newly opened houses are part of the government’s pledge to provide decent accommodation for health workers, especially specialised professionals, to enable them to respond quickly to patients’ needs.
He said improved living conditions would boost staff morale, enhance efficiency and contribute to better health outcomes for citizens.
The President also said the government has already constructed staff houses at other district hospitals, including Abdalla Mzee Hospital in Mkoani, Pemba, as part of efforts to reduce the shortage of public servants’ housing.
He emphasised that these initiatives are in line with commitments made to Zanzibaris during the election campaigns, aimed at addressing key social and economic challenges through inclusive development.
He reaffirmed the government’s determination to continue implementing development projects to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030.
President Mwinyi commended the Ministry of Health for the successful implementation of the Kitogani staff housing project and directed the contractor to complete all remaining works without delay.
Providing technical details, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Mngereza Miraji Mzee, said the three-storey residential building was constructed by Quality Building Contractor at a cost of TZS 5.5 billion, financed by the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar.
He said the facility can accommodate 16 families of health workers at Kitogani Hospital, easing accommodation challenges and improving service delivery to the surrounding communities.