Media services regulations ready

“This is a big achievement to journalism and its practitioners. We have received and utilised immense contributions from different stakeholders in formulating the regulations, including the Tanzania Editors Forum,” Minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sport, Mr Nape Nnauye

What you need to know:

  • Addressing a press conference here yesterday, the Minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sport, Mr Nape Nnauye, said the move marked the end of the process of enacting the law.
  • “This is a big achievement to journalism and its practitioners. We have received and utilised immense contributions from different stakeholders in formulating the regulations, including the Tanzania Editors Forum,” he said.

Dodoma. The controversial Media Services Act is now in full force after its regulations were published in the government gazette on Friday.

Addressing a press conference here yesterday, the Minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sport, Mr Nape Nnauye, said the move marked the end of the process of enacting the law.

“This is a big achievement to journalism and its practitioners. We have received and utilised immense contributions from different stakeholders in formulating the regulations, including the Tanzania Editors Forum,” he said.

According to Mr Nnauye, one of the most debated areas of the regulations was the academic requirement for one to be accredited as journalist.

“After intense deliberations with stakeholders and within the government, we have agreed that a diploma in media studies should be the minimum requirement. In the meantime, we will continue to accredit all journalists in five years from January 1, 2017. However, they must all have attained at least a diploma to be accredited after that.”

He added: “There are those who suggested that the regulations should provide that for one to become an editor he or she must be a holder of a bachelor degree, but we decided that should be left to the media owners to decide in their internal structures.”

The minister reiterated that, the Act which was assented by President John Magufuli in November 16, 2016 and gazetted on December 31, last year aims at transforming journalism from anybody’s occupation to a respected profession.

The law, however, has been bitterly opposed by activists and opposition parties on grounds that it was meant to muzzle press freedom.

Already a group of human rights activists have filed a case in the High Court challenging the constitutionality of the legislation.