Media playing down role of CSOs

Civil society organisations (CSOs) are well-known for their role in national development, playing a significant role in bridging the development gap between the government and communities.

However, the Tanzania government does not always see it that way, and has over the last few years has come up with policies and regulatory frameworks that have severely constricted CSOs’ working space.

Tanzanian CSOs have gathered in the national capital Dodoma to celebrate CSO Week-2021. Generally, CSO Week is the largest gathering of civil society organisations in Tanzania. The event offers an opportunity to engage with multi-sectoral actors to enhance partnerships in driving forward the national development agenda.

But, the government seems to forget that CSOs are partners-in-development – as the Executive Director of Twaweza East Africa, Mr Aidan Eyakuze, posited some two years ago.

One has only to look around and about for living examples. In the legal stakes, CSOs like the Legal and Human Rights Foundation (LHRF), Legal Services Facility (LSF) and Tanzania Human Rights Defenders (THRD) are at the forefront of fighting for citizens’ rights to ensure that they are not trampled underfoot.

For example, a villager whose property is annexed would rightly expect such CSOs to intervene to secure the villager’s rights.

A government worth its name is supposed to make the work and role of CSOs easy. But, do governments always do so?

In the mass media sector, organisations like Search for Common Ground (SCG), Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) and the Tanzania Media Fund (TMF) have, admittedly, been playing their role in developing capacity of mass media organs. This, in itself, is a crucial plank in conflict resolution, among others matters.

In his treatise referred to herein above, Mr Eyakuze wrote passionately about the role that CSOs play in Tanzania’s economy, including providing employment opportunities, and routinely paying government taxes and other levies that swell public coffers.

As CSOs gathered in Dodoma for the 2021 CSO Week slated for October 23-28, it is important for them to convey the message on their contribution collectively to national socioeconomic development.

Consider the state of our Education. There are scores of CSOs doing work in this crucial sector, and whose work includes creating awareness on the importance of having adequate appropriate infrastructure.

We all remember the work that HakiElimu has done in creating critically-needed awareness – just as Twaweza has in its Uwezo Reports has been critical of the relevant authorities.

We only have to step back for a moment to examine and determine whether or not our children are learning. This is on the back of all those billions of shillings of taxpayer money and money from our development partners that are poured into the Education sector annually.

Yet, the government is wont to claim political credit for any and all successes in the sector – leaving all of us none the wiser!

Think about the problem of undernourishment and stunting – and how NGOs have intervened with critically needed data, information which the government then uses to intercede and act.

For some reason or other, the very same government creates a scenario in which CSOs are seen in a negative light. Otherwise, if CSOs are left to do their own thing – and are seen to do better –then they could, would, be seen to be more powerful and useful that the government!

Two years ago, Midas Touché East Africa produced research findings on behalf of the Foundation for Civil Society (FCS) which confirmed that information on the good work that is done by CSOs hardly reaches the public.

After all, Tanzanians have always understood – wrongly, as it turns out – that civil servants and political leaders are the only news makers and purveyors in the country.

Five months ago, I was attending an event in Dodoma – a Business Exhibition by institutions of learning – at which a journalist pointedly asked me who the guest of honour at the event was.

She meant they only cover the personalities. The next day she was livid with me when she discovered the Prime Minister had been Chief Guest.

Clearly, this means that the journo was there only to report on potentates, not trivial events.

We lose the important legal awareness and pro bono work that Lulu Ng’wanakilala and her Legal Services Facility and Human Rights Defenders do.

The Foundation for Civil Society and its Executive Director Francis Kiwanga have a job on their hands: turning the bulk of information into action.

How do we publicize and trigger action based on the good work that civil society does in this country? Over to you Francis Kiwanga!