Better media laws stimulate development

Dar es Salaam. The government’s decision to take the Media Services Act, 2016, back to parliament for amendments is welcome because free and vibrant media is crucial to any country’s development.

Since it was enacted in 2016, the Media Services Act has been widely criticised for containing clauses that suppressed freedom of information and democracy in the country.

There were about 20 sections of the Act with deficiencies that the government, together with stakeholders, thoroughly discussed and agreed should be amended. The sections include 9(a) and (b).

The sections empower the Director of the Tanzania Information Services to register a newspaper, deregister a newspaper, or revoke a newspaper licence.

The general agreement was that these powers should be reduced because they can be easily abused.

Another section is 5(1), which provides instructions that all government advertisements will be coordinated by the Department of Tanzania Information Services (Maelezo) before being submitted to the media houses for publication.

This section is not healthy, and the new proposal is that public institutions be allowed to submit their ads directly to the media houses they deem appropriate according to their needs. Section 5(e) states that newspapers will be required to reapply for licences to operate annually. Media stakeholders want this section to be amended as it does not give media houses a guarantee for survival. Investors in the media industry need assurance that their businesses will be operating next year before they can make crucial, long-term business decisions. Stakeholders want the government to go back to the old procedure of permanent registration, or at least long-term registration. The annual licence arrangements could be used to muzzle a section of the press that is critical to the government by simply not renewing the licence, as it happened to the Tanzania Daima newspaper four years ago. Reactions Various stakeholders have also expressed their hopes that Tanzania will come up with a media law that will benefit the country as a whole.

The Dutch Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr Wiebe de Boer, once said that as the media becomes free, it stimulates the development of a nation and helps strengthen transparency, accountability, and expose corruption.

The leader of ACT-Wazalendo, Mr Zitto Kabwe, has also said in a past interview with MCL that democratic freedom cannot be fulfilled without the existence of good media laws that provide for freedom of journalism and expression.

“We have passed through a dark time. I believe each one of us has learned lessons, and we will not repeat the mistakes made under the administration of John Magufuli. Let us amend this Act in the interests of our nation.”

It is an indisputable fact that freedom of information is an important pillar in the growth of democracy and a catalyst for the development of a nation, so in Tanzania we should correct the mistakes made in the previous administration under the late John Magufuli.

It is on record that some of the news reports by the media on various issues have uncovered issues that have enabled the government to take action to correct the situation. Without the news reports, it is not surprising that the corrective measures would not have been taken and people would have continued to suffer from poor health and education service delivery, bad road infrastructure, and so forth.

Media houses’ news reports have exposed embezzlers, the negligent misuse of power, and the misappropriation of public funds by some unscrupulous actors who were conniving with other people.

The more we strengthen the freedom of information, the more we stimulate the development of individuals and the nation.

Once the bill is taken through Parliament, it is the expectation of many that the legislators will do their job with the best interests of the country at heart. And the country’s interest is for democracy to flourish through more vibrant media.

The MPs should realise that freedom of information is not only for journalists but for all Tanzanians. Media stakeholders do not want favoritism, but they do want friendly media laws and a better working environment. Laws should not be made with the aim of favouring or disintegrating a certain group; laws should not be made for the interests of a certain leader or a certain area; we should make laws from which each of us benefits.

Who does not know that journalists are the voice of the voiceless? Suppressing the media with strict laws means preventing the voices of the people from getting a chance to be heard, thus stifling progress.

Information, Communications, and Information Technology Minister Nape Nnauye has already made it clear that the amendments to be made by the government will address all known concerns because they have involved stakeholders.