THINKING ALOUD: Western media is blind to development in Tanzania

I was not surprised when I read the article under the deadline “Democracy under assault: Tanzania’s rogue president” in The Economist (March 15, 2018). Foreign media has never done justice in reporting about our country.

The editor of The Economist is indeed insensitive. In the African culture one does not use words like “rogue” (dishonest, unprincipled, causing damage) to refer to an elder or a person in a leadership position. Freedom is neither limitless nor absolute and cannot be a license to insult others. Freedom comes with responsibilities.

At first I wanted to write straight to the editor, but after giving it some time and thought, I decided that it was futile to argue with someone who is ignorant, arrogant, disrespectful and simply wants to gain some editorial mileage.

A number of studies have been done on the Western media’s coverage of Africa. Quantitatively, these studies show that Africa is portrayed as an area of incessant calamity, conflict, strife, and catastrophe. The parading of malnourished and naked African children in front of cameras and images of lions and gorillas in the jungle have dominated most Western media outlets over the past five decades. This is intentional negative reporting.

The presentation of African news by Western media convinces audiences in the United States, Europe and other parts of the world that the entire continent of Africa is hopeless and overwhelmed by poverty and disease. Images of skyscrapers, well-developed road networks and other manifestations of modern development in most African countries are usually absent in the mindsets of Western media audiences.

There is still the perception that lions and other wild animals are found everywhere, and people don’t wear clothes or live in houses.

In the article, the editor talks about authoritarian populism, but does not present any case scenario or data to support the claim. If one reads between the lines, the main reason this unwarranted article was published becomes obvious.

Tanzania last year slapped Acacia, a London-listed gold-mining company, with a bill for $190 billion in back taxes. If this had not happened, this article would not have been written, as if it is a crime to collect taxes.

It is also possible that in today’s globalised world, where many countries are chasing the tourist dollar and foreign direct investment, negative portrayal of Africa is done deliberately to drive business and tourists away from the continent.

In the last couple of months this is what the BBC has been reporting about Tanzania – Tanzania police to ‘cripple’ anti-Magufuli protesters; Court challenge to ‘restrictive’ media law in Tanzania; Police must deal with pregnant schoolgirls, says Tanzanian official; Girl who convinced Maasai to stop FGM; Tanzania’s herders kill hundreds of lions each year, Tanzanians ‘safe in SA’, says foreign ministry; Tanzanian journalists mark colleague’s disappearance; $1m gold seized at Kenya airport; Tanzania president pardons child rapists. No development news whatsoever. In contrast, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported on March 24 that Tanzania’s new airport terminal would open in June 2019.

Times have changed, and today Tanzania and other countries in Africa cannot just be passive onlookers as was the case during the 1900 scramble for Africa. The current scramble for Africa is based on economic opportunities, but we now have a voice, choice, will, reason and the ability to conduct our affairs according to the interests of our people.

We suffered due to the slave trade, colonisation and neo-colonialism and corrupt leaders, but now a new wave of leadership is sweeping across the continent and warped strategies by the West will not work.

The local media has a great responsibility to champion the truth. The print and electronic media should not confine themselves political and soccer news only. Socioeconomic development news from all over the country should take centre stage. The country should be depicted positively with all its natural beauty. Perhaps there is a need to invest in human resource in the information sector. The myths, stereotypes and negative reporting can be eliminated if we take the initiative of telling our own stories and educating the masses about this beautiful country.

I suggest that we move on with our development agenda and show in deed that despite all the hurdles, Tanzania can become a middle-income country. It would be nice to invite the editor of The Economist to come and witness what is happening in the country. In the meantime, let the dogs bark till the cows return home.

The switch from the “hopeless continent” narrative to the “rising Africa” one certainly has drawn the attention of scholars and close Africa watchers, but to the casual observer, it might seem that the focus on Africa is still on chaos, disease, and poverty instead of investment, growth and opportunities.