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Stakeholders discuss Media Bill proposals
2008-04-17 10:41:56
By Guardian Reporter
Media stakeholders yesterday discussed their draft proposals for the 2008 Media Services Bill, which they will submit to the government.
Opening the meeting, the chairman of the MCT House Ethics Committee, Judge Mark Bomani, said there was no unlimited press freedom, and only the truth had to be reported.
He added that journalists should not be vengeful and had to respect the right of privacy.
Giving a helicopter view of the proposals, two legal experts, Dr Sengondo Mvungi and Damas Ndumbaro, dwelt on the proposals item by item, including aspects on the formation of media organizations, ownership, registration and licensing procedures, air frequency distribution, accreditation of journalists and the responsibility of news media institutions.
``It is proposed that foreign ownership of media institutions should be limited to 30 percent in partnership with locals, except for East African investors, who should be allowed to own up to 100 percent,`` Dr Mvungi said.
The issue of foreign ownership of media institutions provoked a hot debate, and there were arguments about the employment of foreign editors by non-Tanzanian media house owners.
Responding to the observations from the floor, Ndumbaro said that the media was regarded as the Fourth Estate of the government, the others being the Executive, Judiciary and Parliament.
``As the fourth arm of the government, the media is a sensitive institution, just like the other three.
We do not allow foreign participation in the Executive, Judiciary and Parliament.
We should therefore ask ourselves how far foreign ownership of media institutions should be allowed,`` Ndumbaru said, referring to the issue of national interest.
Chipping in, MOAT chairman Reginald Mengi told participants that the licensing of radio and television frequencies would in the near future be done by network providers, while television stations would be issued with content licenses.
``There is fear that foreign firms might win tenders for network providing, thus be responsible for licensing of frequencies.
This will go against national interests and could be a threat to national security because the foreign network providers could put any television station off the air even for flimsy reasons,`` Mengi observed.
He insisted that if that would indeed happen, it would threaten national security.
Mengi said it was not easy even for an advanced nation to place its vital communication network in the hands of foreignes.
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