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Mwinyi hails media role in promoting democracy
2007-07-20 10:17:33
By Austin Beyadi and Grace Tinda, IJMC
Former President Ali Hassan Mwinyi has said the media plays a significant role in checking government conduct and enhances democracy and the rule of law in both public and private sectors.
The remarks were made in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday at the launch of Changamoto newspaper, adding that Tanzanians also had to build a culture of learning through the media.
``Tanzanians do not have an insatiable reading curiosity which will enable them to know about what is going on in their own country and abroad,`` he said.
He said the media had a big role to play in strengthening peace in all the squares of the nation through disseminating information which is well balanced.
Mwinyi said as the number of newspapers and other media outlets increased in the country, they provided a better platform for the public to caution the government about whatever they thought was going wrong.
He said the media was a very sensitive sector and most of what it disseminated was believed by the people, irrespective of whether or not it was true.
The former head of state further said that the media also provided a platform for brainstorming issues that led to direct or indirect changes in the society.
Mwinyi urged media houses to give priority to people living in rural areas where it was hard to get current news and information.
In response, the managing director of Ladyband Company, publishers of the newspaper, Jamila Abdallah, said her company aimed at reaching people in rural areas where information was hard to get.
She said infrastructure was also a major problem in getting the information to the rural areas.
She said there was need to provide a conducive environment for the media so that it could disseminate information which was both valid and current.
She said, for instance, that currently the local media was playing a big role in educating people on the tangible benefits of the government budget.
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