Govt transfers 460 servants to reunite with spouses

DODOMA: THE government has strengthened measures to enable public servants in legally recognised marriages to work closer to their spouses, with 460 employees transferred during the 2025/26 financial year.

Deputy Minister of State in the President’s Office (Public Service Management and Good Governance), Ms Regina Qwaray (pictured), said the government is aware that enabling public servants to live with their spouses is important for family stability and improved work performance.

“The government has taken various measures, including establishing a special window in the e-Utendaji system through which public servants can apply for transfers for various reasons, including to join their spouses,” Ms Qwaray said.

She was responding to a basic question from Regina Mikenze (Special Seats– CCM), who sought to know whether the government had plans to facilitate the transfer of public servants in legally recognised marriages so they could live closer to their spouses.

Ms Qwaray said the deployment of public servants following recruitment takes into account various factors, including family interests, sectoral needs, employees’ skills and employment equity. She said 460 public servants were transferred during the 2025/26 financial year, comprising 281 women and 179 men, to different locations to enable them to reunite with their spouses.

In a supplementary question, Ms Mikenze asked how the government assists public servants whose transfer applications are rejected by the electronic system because positions at their preferred destinations are already filled, particularly those facing serious medical conditions that require them to remain close to healthcare facilities.

Ms Qwaray said the government continued to consider applications involving special circumstances, particularly those concerning employees with medical needs, even when the electronic system indicated that positions were unavailable or other requirements had not been met. She said the approach was guided by the need to balance administrative requirements with humanitarian considerations.

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“The government, guided by the President’s emphasis on work and humanity, continues to give special consideration to people with special needs, particularly patients and provide them with opportunities for transfer so they can live closer to their spouses,” she said.

Ms Qwaray also reminded employers across the country to process transferrelated matters promptly, noting that the government had already issued guidelines requiring them to address employees’ servicerelated challenges without unnecessary delays.

She said employers should ensure that transfer applications are handled efficiently and avoid unnecessarily preventing employees from following the required procedures through the electronic system. Another supplementary question from Esther Bulaya (Bunda Urban–CCM) focused on delays in paying relocation allowances to public servants after they have been transferred.

Ms Qwaray said transfers should only be approved after the government has confirmed that funds are available to facilitate the employee’s relocation. She said employers, including local government authorities, have been directed to ensure that their budgets provided for relocation costs whenever transfers were approved.

“The government continues to remind all employers to ensure that public servants are paid promptly once a transfer has been issued,” she said.