Despite the Government’s decision to move its Capital City to Dodoma; Dar es Salaam remains the major City of Tanzania and the hub of commercial activities. It has more than 575 major industrial establishments, a Central Bank, Commercial Banks, Foreign exchange bureaus, Insurance companies and transportation networks. Administratively, Dar es Salaam has a regional administration headed by the Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner. It also has a City Council administration headed by the Mayor of Dar es Salaam. The City has five (5) Municipal Councils and by their embedded administrative functions they form Municipals of the Dar-es Salaam Region. The 5 Municipals are: Temeke Municipal Council, Kinondoni Municipal Council, Ilala Municipal Council, Ubungo Municipal Council and Kigamboni Municipal Council.

The City governing body is the City Council, which comprises of 26 Councilors, with a representation of 4 Councilors from each Municipal Council. The City Director is the Chief Executive Officer who executes all day to day administrative duties.