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Stakeholders to discuss Media Service Bill in Dar today
2007-11-23 18:56:11
By Rose Mwalongo
Media stakeholders in the country will meet in Dar es Salaam today to discuss and make recommendations on the Media Services Bill 2008.
A statement from the Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) issued yesterday in Dar es Salaam said the meeting would discuss the proposals in-depth and ensure that a media friendly law was passed.
`The law must conform to the spirit of the Constitution and the aspirations of the people to have a vibrant, pluralistic and independent media as one of the institutional pillars of good governance, accountability and transparency,` read part of the statement.
The proposed Media Services Bill, 2008 and the Freedom of Information Bill, 2008 were presented for discussion by the Government early this year but on closer scrutiny, the provisions in both bills were found wanting and were therefore rejected by the stakeholders.
The meeting would be officiated at by the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Media Council of Tanzania (MCT); Prof. Geoffrey Mmari and would bring together editors, media owners, journalists and representatives from government and political parties.
It would also bring together journalism training institutions, professional media associations, faith based organisations, civil societies and development partners, read the MCT statement.
`The event is jointly organised by the Media Institute of Tanzania in collaboration with members of the Coalition on Freedom of Information and expression which are the Media Institute for Southern Africa Tanzania Chapter (MISA-TAN), Media Women’s Association (TAMWA) and Media owners Association of Tanzania (MOAT).`
Others are the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS), Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) and Tanzania Legal Education Trust (TANLET).
Within the list is the National Organisation for Legal Assistance (NOLA) and the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP).
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