What government move means for media

Dar es Salaam. Members of the mass media fraternity yesterday cautiously welcomed the government’s move of presenting industry players with a basket of goodies. Instead, some of them called for review of the draconian media laws in the country.

Addressing editors at a meeting in the city, the Minister for Information, Communications and Information Technology, Mr Nape Nnauye, announced the lifting of a ban on several newspapers, reinstating their operating licences. The papers were banned and had their licences revoked during the rule of President John Magufuli (2015-2021).

However, since ascending to the highest office in the land on March 19, 2021, President Samia Suluhu Hassan has steadily been doing away with the hardline stance, showing some respect to the freedom of association and expression.

This was not the case during Magufuli’s Presidency when Tanzania registered a sharp backslide on basic freedoms of association and expression, undermining freedoms for both the media and civil society.

Under President Magufuli, the government passed new laws, and enforced existing ones that were repressive of independent reporting. It also restricted the work of media organs, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and political opposition groups.

But speaking after the swearing-in of principal secretaries, their deputies and heads of public corporations at the State House Dar es Salaam on April 6, 2021, President Hassan showed signs that banning newspapers and social media platforms would not be the norm under her administration. She ordered her aides to lift the ban on the press, directing them to refrain from harassing the media.

Yesterday, Mr Nnauye said the government was determined to build a new relationship with the media.

For starters, he lifted the ban on the Mwanahalisi, Mawio, Mseto and Tanzania Daima publications.

Mr Nnauye said such a decision was inevitable if the intention was to open a new chapter. He said President Hassan had issued instructions to review policies, laws, guidelines and regulations that oversee the media in order to create a friendly environment for them to operate.

“To start with, the Information Department will collaborate with the Tanzania Editors Forum (TEF) and other media institutions to organise a stakeholders meeting in the next few days to deliberate on the proposed amendment of the media laws submitted to the government,” he said.

Furthermore, Mr Nnauye said, the government will form a committee that will dialogue on, and propose, changes of policy and regulatory frameworks. Mr Nnauye who admitted that he had a role in enacting the laws that were being criticised by stakeholders. But, things have changed since 2016, and revisiting the regime was inevitable.

“However, we can’t suspend implementation of the law. The laws will be enforced as discussions on controversial sections - such as journalists’ levels of education - continue,” he said.

The issue of journos’ education was tricky because someone over 50 years old cannot be instructed to go back to school, or be forced to retire.

He said the government was determined to strengthen cooperation, calling media organs to increase their trust in the government. “Institutions that have been hesitating to provide adverts and payment to public and private media organs should review their positions,” Nauye said.

He pledged to open doors for the media organs, including those which were denied cooperation by public officials.

Media stakeholders cautiously welcomed the government’s decision of lifting the publication ban but hoped that the bad laws would be amended soon so as to build a truly democratic society that respected human rights.

Mr Nnauye said immediate measures to review media draconian laws through the collaboration of the Information Department, Tanzania Editors Forum (TEF) and other stakeholders.

Contacted yesterday, different stakeholders said the decision was good for the sector .

The chair of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Tanzania Chapter), Salome Kitomari, said the decision provided journalists with opportunities for sustainable development.

“This will promote freedom of expression and access to information according to international conversations and declarations,” she said.

She also expressed optimism that the government’s decision would promote accountability in communication officers in providing information to journalists.

“All authorities and stakeholders should remove restrictions imposed on media outlets and allow free operation of journalists,” she said.

The Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) executive secretary, Mr Kajubi Mukajanga, said the government’s decision had for long been stakeholder’s outcry.

“We expect the Media Service Act and other draconian laws will be amended for growth of the industry and the country in general,” he said.

The executive director of the Tanzania Media Women’s Association (Tamwa), Ms Rose Reuben, said the decision gives assurance that freedom of expression was gaining momentum in Tanzania. “Journalists should adhere to the laws and work according to the requirements of the profession,” she observed.

A senior journalist, Absalom Kibanda, said after lifting the ban on newspapers, the government should now revisit oppressive media laws.

“Lifting the ban on the four newspapers was a good foundation for avoiding future suspension of newspapers,” he said.

On January 17, 2017, the Ki-Swahili tabloid Mawio was permanently banned allegedly for failing to abide by professional ethics. The Mwanahalisi was banned on September 18, 2017 for allegedly publishing a story that defamed the late President Magufuli. The weekly Mseto was banned in August 2016 for breaching the Newspapers Act, while Tanzania Daima was banned on June 23, 2020 following what was said to be “excessive and repetitive violations of journalism laws and ethics”.