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Merging Parliament media to deepen democracy
2007-12-06 09:29:47
By Reporter Lusekelo Philemon
Parliamentary reporting is one of the newly established packages in the day to day activities of the National Assembly of Tanzania. Our Reporter Lusekelo Philemon recently attended a special training seminar on parliamentary reporting in Bagamoyo. The idea was to equip media practitioners with special skills and techniques on parliamentary issues for public interests. Read on
Having special media practitioners who can adequately cover and report parliamentary issues is the best option which, if adopted, will lift the country high into international circles.
This will help reporters to deliver their best before the public hence play their role of linking the government, parliamentarians, voters and the public in general.
It will be easy for the public to assess what their representatives in the august House are doing for their advantage and general development of the country.
An American leader, Thomas Jefferson, once described media as the fourth pillar of the State organs as it links Parliament, Judiciary and executive as well as the public.
It makes all important issues in the house reach the public at the grass roots levels. This is possible through all media channels - print and electronic media.
For a number of years, media has played important role in making the general public aware of the government programmes and contributions made by MPs towards the development of their respective constituencies and the country at large.
However, the media on one side and the Parliament on the other side have been working in disharmony.
This,according to Human Rights activists, was a violation of human rights, the right to collect, disseminate and access to information.
Rural communities have always been the most vulnerable by not acquiring the right information from their MPs in the House, where they all meet to furnish laws, money authorization, and expenditure monitoring ,among others.
Perhaps, this is because the model of the Tanzania National Assembly was framed in accordance with the needs of colonialists in 1926 under the chairmanship of the Governor of Tanganyika, Sir Donald Cameron.
The House was there just to fulfill the interests of the colonialists and not the colonized Africans.
This is what made Parliament to be too rigid, for a number of years, to even make simple issues that are important before the public a secret.
For instance, it\'s strictly prohibited for the media to access information from any parliamentary committee.
This is tantamount to denial of people`s rights, the right to information.
That is why the newly established package wants media to freely come in and play its role for the public interest.
In responding to some of the critical challenges facing media and Parliament relationships, the national assembly has prepared a five-year special training programme for media practitioners that will help to equip them with special skills and techniques on parliamentary reporting.
The Speaker of the National Assembly, Samwel Sitta, says that parliamentary proceedings need objective reporters who are well equipped with knowledge and skills on the subject.
``The Parliament understands the role played by the media in disseminating information to the public.
We believe that if we empower journalists on these special training, they will do their jobs easily and give out accurate information related to parliamentary proceedings,`` Sitta explains.
Dr. Batlida Burian, Minister of State, Prime Minister`s Office-Parliamentary Affairs says: ``This kind of training will help media practitioners to open up their understanding on various issues relating to the House. We still believe that good parliamentary newsmen/women are not born but are made.``
She says this will help to strengthen the relationship between the media and the Parliament and hence improve service delivery to the public.
The two are complementing each other and thus the need to work together for the country`s socio-economic development.
``The relationship between these two institutions is very important; we, as legislators and media stakeholders are responsible in strengthening this relationship for the benefit of the public,`` she says.
``The media is a bridge that links people with their representatives in the House. MPs must understand that without media, there is nothing they can do. So I think it`s high time MPs worked closely with media practitioners,`` adds Dr. Burian.
She explains that media practitioners need to have special knowledge on objective reporting of important issues to the society. This is due to the complexities of parliamentary issues and their importance to the public.
``Our target is to build friendly relationship between media and the national assembly.
Reporters in this area therefore must be very conversant with skills related to Parliamentary reporting for them to perform their duties thoroughly and accurately,`` says Daniel Foka, Clerk of the National Assembly.
Foka explains that, the training will make media practitioners report parliamentary proceedings in accordance with rules, regulations and standing orders governing the national assembly.
``This will make the public get accurate information to enable them excel in their day to day activities,`` Foka says.
He says the move is part of Bunge transformation and an implementation of Bunge Social Service Commission that stressed the need for close relationship with
Tanzania`s local media.
``Rules and regulations governing the national assembly are very important to media players and the public at large.
Some journalists report issues that in real sense are not news from the parliamentary point of view,`` said Demetrius Mgalami, Assistant Director, Protocol and International Relations from National Assembly Office.
According to Mgalami, participatory approach in the law making process is one way towards true democracy in any country including Tanzania. Hence, media has a big role to make this effective for the benefit of the public and their prosperities.
Theonest Ruhilabake, Assistant Director, Department of Parliamentary Committees also says: ``The position of media cut across all important sectors in the Parliament including House standing committees.
They are supposed to work with these committees and make the public aware of what is going on. We`re trying to improve relations with media actors to meet this target.``
There are lots of changes in the Parliament. This will help to open more landscapes to accommodate the public, according to Ruhilabake.
Jossey Mwakasyuka, Director, Civic Education, Information and International Cooperation insists that, Bunge will make sure that local media in Tanzania is well-equipped with potential skills and knowledge on parliamentary reporting like their colleagues in India, Ghana, Uganda and the rest of the world.
``That`s the reason we plan to make parliamentary reporters undergo intensive training in and outside the country. Sometime they may go outside the country to learn how their colleagues report parliamentary issues,`` he says.
The training programme will run from 2007 to 2011 and will be conducted within and outside the country.
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