EDITORIAL: HOW BEST TO CELEBRATE WORLD TELECOMS DAY
The global community today, May 17, marks in unison the World Telecommunication Day (WTD) and the World Information Society Day (WISD). WTD commemorates the founding of the International Telegraph Union (ITU) on May 17, 1865 – and became a specialised United Nations agency responsible for all matters related to information and communication technologies effective on January 1, 1949.
On the other hand, WISD was so proclaimed by a UN General Assembly Resolution following the 2005 World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis, Tunisia.
What with one thing leading to another, the November 2006 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya, Turkey, decided to celebrate both events on May 17 as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.
But, among the WISD objectives was to bridge the global digital divide separating rich countries in the developed world from poor countries in the developing world – largely by increasing ready and affordable Internet accessibility in the latter.
Fair enough, we heartily say of that very noble motive.
However – as we recently noted in our article titled ‘Why Tanzania telecoms coverage has remained low’ [The Citizen; April 21, 2021] – although Internet accessibility in Tanzania seems to have markedly increased in recent years, all that glitters is not (necessarily) gold!
For instance, while reports have it that 51.3 million Subscriber Identification Modules (Sim cards) were in use by the 60 million-strong Tanzanian population last December, the reality on the ground is that only about 25 million Tanzanians have access to mobile telephony.
Internet access and other forms of telecommunication are even lower. Multiple taxes on telecommunication products and services – compounded by some inordinately high tax rates – continue to hinder the sector’s growth and ready access to affordable telecommunications.
But, we are told, the government is frantically working on this – and, hopefully, Tanzanians can afford to better celebrate World Telecommunication and Information Society Day henceforth.
NIP CRIME WAVE IN THE BUD
The upsurge in violent crime, particularly armed robbery, across the country is unsettling. Robbers have in recent weeks been operating with startling temerity that has not been seen for several years.
The days when armed gangsters raided mobile money outlets in broad daylight, killed or maimed attendants before fleeing with cash were a distant memory only a few months ago, but it seems they are back with us in the most terrifying fashion after several people were either killed in cold blood or seriously wounded in robberies at homes or business premises in the past one month or so.
The impression that has been created is that criminals think the Police Force and other security organs are preoccupied with something else to an extent that the safety and security of law-abiding Tanzanians and their property is no longer a priority.
It heartening, however, to note that no lesser a person than the President herself has expressed her concern about the situation. Ms Samia Suluhu Hassan said when addressing Dar es Salaam elders earlier in the month that the wave of violent crime sweeping across the country should be nipped in the bud.
It is now up to our security agencies to ensure that the relative peace and quiet Tanzanians had enjoyed in the last few years is restored.
