Govt, Opposition lock horns on controversial Media Bill

Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL) managing director Francis Nanai (right) explains a point to Information, Culture, Arts and Sports Development minister Nape Nnauye at Bunge grounds in Dodoma yesterday.  PHOTO | EDWIN MJWAHUZI

Dar es Salaam. The Media Services Bill, 2016 was tabled for the second reading yesterday with the government and the Opposition locking horns on the true agenda of the Bill, which is likely to be passed today.

While the government insists that the Bill is going to safeguard and formalise freedom of press, the Opposition maintains that it will only muzzle and ultimately bury that very freedom.

Tabling the Bill yesterday, Information, Culture, Arts and Sports minister Nape Nnauye said after two decades of trying and failing to pass the Bill, now Parliament was going to make a law that will ensure that the interests of all parties in the information sector are protected. According to Mr Nnauye, to prove that the government wasn’t habouring ill motives, it has amended some of the contentious areas of the Bill using stakeholders’ feedback.

He said, initially the Bill invested all powers of licensing of media houses in the hands of the Director of Information Services Department.

But according to him, those who will be denied the licence would be able to appeal to the minister and if not satisfied they would proceed to High Court. He also said that publishers will no longer be liable for the content of newspapers that they will publish and their printing machines would not be seized as it was initially suggested by the Bill.

“Other changes will also be of relief to media owners and houses as liability of cases which will be caused by reporters will be punishable to the scribes themselves. Currently, the liability is assumed by the media house,” he said.    The amendments also are in the composition of the Accreditation Board which will include seven members of which four must be media practitioners of whom one will be the chairperson.

According to the new amendments, the Chief Justice will have to fast track hearing of defamation cases whereas under the proposed amendment he will have to set time limit for hearing of such cases.

However, in sharp contrast, the shadow minister of Information, Mr Joseph Mbilinyi, told Parliament that the Bill was rushed to safeguard the interests of the government and that was why President John Magufuli yesterday openly said he was going to assent to it right away.

According to him, the proposed accreditation board will be used by the government to censor journalists so that it would remain with only those who would be publishing content that the government wants.

He also said that Bill was a clear indication that “the government has dictatorial tendencies and they dislike free media. This Bill is going to bankrupt media owners and jail reporters and editors. All in all, this Bill is aimed at destroying the media profession in the country.” He also said that the Bill was going to kill citizen journalism because all social media platforms would require licensing and the contributors accredited.  “Social media users across all platforms, from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are going to be affected by this draconian Bill.”

He also said the Bill through section 7 (1) (b) (iv) is also going to give the government a direct say on the content of private media, on issues that the government will deem to be of national importance.

“This section will make the minister of Information Nape Nnauye the country’s Editor In Chief,” he said.

He said the Bill also prohibits the publication of Cabinet issues even if a journalist came across a dossier that indeed proves that was a cabinet document. “It is prudent for this Section to be expounded and categorically state which sort of information is classified, leaving it the way it is now is going to be unconstitutional.”

“The penalty proposed in this Bill is very harsh, that is, if one is found guilty of an offence under it one would face a fine of Sh5 million up to Sh20 million or be jailed to a maximum of five years and not less than three years,” he said.

He also said that the Bill reproduced the entire section on sedition offences from the Newspaper Act, 1976 which is going to be automatically repelled if the Bill is going to be passed into law.

“This is going to bury investigative journalism in the country,” he said.

The chairman of the Parliamentary Community Development and Social Services Committee, Mr Peter Serukamba, tabled some of the amendments as to have a dress code for journalists as they were role models of the community.