‘Twaweza letter was not meant for social media’, Costech says
Costech’s Acting Director General Dr Amos Nungu (C) addresses the press on Thursday. With him is Costech's lawyer Ms Zainab Bakari (R), and a Research officer at Costech, Mr Mashuhuri Mwinyihamis. Photo | Ericky Boniphace
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Dr Nungu declined to say anything else about the letter before Twaweza replies. He said: “We cannot talk about the letter, for doing so would be replying it on behalf of Twaweza.”
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (Costech) has expressed its disappointment over circulation of its letter to a local advocacy group Twaweza, calling the move to be inappropriate.
The letter, which issued a seven-day ultimatum to Twaweza, wants the organization to explain why legal measures shouldn’t be taken against it for allegedly conducting a survey without a permit.
The research in question was an opinion poll which revealed that President John Magufuli's approval rating has dropped from 71 per cent last year to 55 per cent.
Findings of a study titled Speaking Truth to Power? Citizens' Views on Politics in Tanzania show that Dr Magufuli's approval rating has dropped from 96 per cent in his first year in office in 2016 - a fall of 41 percentage points.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, Costech’s Acting Director General Dr Amos Nungu confirmed that the letter was indeed from his organization, noting however that he was saddened to find legitimate official communication circulating on social media even before a response was made.
However, Dr Nungu declined to say anything else about the letter before Twaweza replies. He said:“We cannot talk about the letter, for doing so would be replying it on behalf of Twaweza.”
