Tanzania: Include Media Independence in Constitution

Tanzanian media stakeholders have been urged to fight for the incorporation of media independence in the new constitution as a guarantee for press freedom.

The call was made in Dar es Salaam yesterday by retired Chief Justice (CJ) Augustino Ramadhani who was the guest of honour at the commemoration of the World Press Freedom Day attended by media stakeholders.

He said the freedom of expression enshrined in section 18 of the current constitution provided freedom to individuals and not the media.

“Despair not; even the independence of the judiciary, in spite of learned Judges and magistrates, was just incorporated into the constitution 10 years ago,” said retired CJ Ramadhani.

He added: “More often than not, people would only think of executive interference when you speak of independence of media or judiciary which is not the case.”

He said there was freedom against the government whereby the repressive Act such as the notorious Newspaper Act of 1976 was in existence and gave the government power to ban newspapers at will as was the case of Mwanahalisi and Kulikoni papers.

Similarly, he said, there was freedom of journalists to compromise facts to impress media owners.

According to the retired judge, another set of freedom was against the source of information.

“Denying the source of information to defend himself or herself if he or she is quoted out of context is against the freedom of press,” he said.

Speaking in his capacity as the chairman of Media Owners Association (MOAT), IPP Executive Chairman, Reginald Mengi said journalists who received bribes were traitors and had no moral authority to denounce the vice because they were part and parcel of corruption.

He said the war against corruption would not succeed if journalists participated in the vice.

He also said freedom of press was instrumental in promoting peace in the world.

“As we mark the World Press Freedom Day I would like to stress that press freedom in which the media is capable of getting news and enabling people to use their right is crucial in strengthening democracy,” Mengi said.

He said media had the responsibility to promote good governance and fight evils in the society such as unveiling bribe givers and receivers and those involved in corruption, grabbing or misusing public properties or funds so as to promote a democratic society.

He appealed to journalists to avoid engaging in the evils they were fighting for.

Mengi further said that media has the responsibility to ensure that the news they provide to the people abided by the professional ethics.

“News that abides by professional ethics protects and defends peace, harmony and national unity,” the MOAT chairman stressed.

Delivering a United Nations (UN) joint message, United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) country Director Vibeke Jensen pointed out that 20 years after the Windhoek Declaration, the media landscape had changed beyond recognition, but the objective remained the same; to promote freedom of expression as the foundation for human dignity and the cornerstone of democracy.

“Our times feature a great paradox. We enjoy unprecedented opportunities for expression thanks to new technologies and media. Information flow across national borders is a blessing for creativity, for healthy societies including everyone in new forms of dialogue” read the joint statement.

However, new threats were arising,” he said, adding: “New measures to block, filter and censor information emerge everyday and challenges take different features, but they share the same faces as violation of a fundamental human rights.”

He also said violations of human rights should not go unanswered, underlining that state authorities should do everything to counter impunity and to protect freedom of expression and freedom of press.

Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) deplored the explosion of new media and social networks that raised new ethical concerns like infringement on privacy and security for users.

“MCT is concerned that new media frontiers may hurt journalists integrity by compromising on news quality and reliability,” said Kajubi Mukajanga, Executive Secretary of MCT.

 

May 4, 2011 by Edwin Agola/THE GUARDIAN

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Source: www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=28743 (Accessed: 05.05.2011)

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On the same conference, the African Media Barometer (AMB) Tanzania was launched:

What is it and why is it supported by the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation?

by Dr. Stefan Chrobot, Resident Director of the Tanzania Office of Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, May 3 2011 at Mlimani City Hall, Dar es Salaam

The African Media Barometer is an in-depth and comprehensive description and measurement system for national media environment on the African continent.  FES offices all over Africa are supporting partners in AMB-activities covering about 25 countries.  Here in the southern region, where Tanzania is part of in terms of SADC, we have been cooperating closely with the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) in a very fruitful and successful interaction.

The AMB is a self-assessment exercise based on home grown criteria derived from important Africans Protocols and Declarations like the “Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa” or set by the “African Commission for Human and Peoples´ Rights. It also takes up the idea of the “Africanb Peer Review Mechanism” on good governance and applies it to the media at a national level.

Every two years a panel of experts, consisting of media practitioners and representatives from civil society, meets to assess the media situation in their own country. After discussing the national media environment for two days along predetermines indicators they will score in an anonymous vote on a scale from “1” to “5”. If the country does not meet the indicator the score would be “1”. If the country meets all aspects of the indicator the score would be “5” as the best result possible. As the final outcome of each AMB measurement for a respective country there will be a qualitative report summarizes the general content of the discussions. Also the average score for each indicator will be reported as well as the overall score of the country.

These reports measuring the media development of a particular country will then be published and they are available for anybody who is interested in them. It is our intention to provide them for the stakeholders in the media industry, for political decision makers and for nongovernmental organizations dealing with media and information freedom as a qualified basis for political discussion and decision making processes on media reform and the freedom on information.

Let me take the example for AMB on Tanzania. Here the overall average score was “2.4” in 2006. In 2008 the overall country score was again 2.4 and in 2010 it was “2.5”. That means concluded from the measurement of the AMB the national media environment in Tanzania has neither deteriorated nor improved to a significant extend. An outcome like this with its specified assessments related to each indicator could then encourage civil society, parliamentarians and those in governments in charge for media and information in their efforts for media reform. In this context the panelists of the AMB 2010 for Tanzania have agreed on a number of measures to be undertaken to improve the media environment of their country. These include e.g. the facilitation of a debate on digital conversion for broadcasting, strengthening the rights of journalists and improving the standards for journalism and also an increased advocacy on the enactment of media reform bills.

We as Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation wish to advocate and support press freedom and information rights as part of the universal human and civil rights of any person. Here in Tanzania we are surrounded by a free and democratic environment for the debate of media reform and information rights. Together with our partners from non-governmental organizations, those institutions responsible within the government and with the democratically elected representatives of the people we intend to continue this cooperation in the context of the AMB.  We therefore encourage all to continue with an open, critical and fruitful debate on media reform and further improvement of the media environment.