In a statement, the country's Director of Cultural Development, Prof. Herman Mwansoko, said twerking is destroying the country's culture and impacting negative morals in the new generation.
"The dance threatens our original dances, which are our identity, the new generation will be filled with what they see now and may not be aware that there has been a real Baikoko for instance," he said.
The news was received with mixed reactions with most Tanzanians expressing their disappointment online.
However, singer Ray-C supports the government on this move. The former bad girl says that it is inappropriate.
"We must censor what we do otherwise we will be bringing up an immoral generation," Ray-C, who is famous for her belly dances in previous music videos, told reporters.
Ray-C further added that celebrities are to blame for immorality in Tanzania. "Some of the things we do on TV are totally wrong, but since we are role models, the young people watching us at home think that it is okay since we endorse them. Showbiz must be responsible!" she said.
According research, twerking is actually believed to have originated from West Africa (for instance the popular Mapouka dance) and has been around for several generations before it was adopted by African Americans in the 90s. However, the dance was not originally done with s*xu@l intent until it hit the hiphop scene in America where it became s*xu@lised as part of the hiphop culture especially in rap videos.