Weak leaders hiding faces behind newspapers?

By Ansbert Ngurumo


The government of Tanzania, under President Jakaya Kikwete, is notorious for taming the media to sing its praises. Most notably, the Prime Minister, Edward Lowassa (pictured right), has of late become increasingly infamous in issuing orders and threats to uncompromising editors, publishers and critics. On several grounds, he has threatened to take stern action against newspapers that do not report his government positively. In this article, I am telling him flat to stop abusing his powers. I am telling political leaders to respect the media as a vital tool in enhancing democracy.

A few weeks ago, he issued threats against a daily independent newspaper, Tanzania Daima, in his reaction to a story he did not like. I find his threats highly disheartening, raising more questions than answers.

What is he wary of? What is he trying to hide from the public? How can such a high profile official show enormous timidity of media reports? Why is he running out of patience? Why should he strive to teach journalists how to write good stories about his government? Why doesn't he think journalists can see news through their own lenses? Why does he expect them to think and act like he pleases? Is this his attempt to muzzle the media? Isn't this, threatening the weak, an abuse of the power entrusted in him? Worse still, why should he misuse public funds to pay for adverts in newspapers that publish his threats? Why, Mr Prime Minister?

It all started with a news story in Tanzania Daima newspaper, on November 1st, 2006 with a headline: "Yet another excuse on Dodoma." It irked the Prime Minister, Lowassa. The story resulted from a question-answer session in parliament, regarding the government's slowness in completing the Dodoma capital development project. Dodoma is one of Tanzania's central towns declared the country's capital in 1973, but the country's de facto capital city has so far remained in Dar es Salaam since independence 45 years ago.

The question, which had been posed by the Dodoma Urban member of parliament, Ephraim Madeje, was replied to by the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (responsible for disasters and AIDS), Dr. Lucas Siyame, who said there had been delays in completing the programme due to some weaknesses in the capital development authorities act of 1989. He, however, never mentioned these weaknesses.

Interestingly, there have been many similar questions in the past; with the government always blaming its delays on some factors. This is where the media pegged its story, and said ‘yet another excuse,' a headline that exasperated, not the responsible minister but, interestingly, the Prime Minister; and prompted his notorious reaction.

Lowassa issued a statement and circulated it in various media outlets as a paid advert, threatening to take legal action against the newspaper that had published the story. He said the paper should not have interpreted the minister's answer because its task is reporting, not interpreting news, especially when such news seems to scandalise the government of the day.

He gave the paper a five-day ultimatum, during which it should have apologised and retracted the story; otherwise he would advise relevant authorities to take necessary action'. Experience in Tanzania has shown that similar threats end up in having the targeted ‘culprit' either de-registered or suspended from publishing, hence causing ineffable loss to publishers, staff and public. The presence of a number of draconian laws, including the Newspapers Act if 1976, remains a major blow that keeps Tanzanian media docile, fearing stern action from government, in the absence of the Freedom of Information Act.

With exception of a few independent-minded individual writers in some media houses, many of Tanzanian journalists have recently been caught up in the web of compromising with the government. Lowassa knows them better, because, even before coming to power, he managed to ‘use' some of them and fight his way through.

The current president, Jakaya Kikwete, is termed a ‘friend of the media' not because he has done anything to safeguard the media, but because he managed to manipulate them to his political advantage over his competitors for the last 10 years, assisted by his two long-time comrades - Lowassa and Rostam Azizi. The latter - businessman and legislator for Igunga in Tabora region - has been Kikwete's right hand in spinning the media for the past 10 years during which Kikwete sought presidency..

Its is not a surprise, therefore, that Tanzania's media has kept on showering vain praises on Kikwete's government since he came to power in December 2005, even before he did anything worthwhile. It is a friendship based not on trust but on journalists' hunger, fear and favour. The editors' hunger keeps most of them in the pocket of spin doctors. Their fear keeps them away from critical news to the government. For this reason, self-censorship is at its zenith. The editors know Lowassa's vigilance and sensitivity to media reportage, and how fierce he can be when irritated and tempted to abuse powers vested in him. As a result, most of our media have ended up either writing nothing critical of the government or showering empty praises to obvious failure. Nevertheless, we need to ask ourselves: how long and for whose benefit, shall we let this happen?

In the midst of all this, it was likely that an analytical story by Tanzania Daima newspaper, hinting on the government's latest excuse on Dodoma failure, would attract Lowassa's attention. Three decades after the decision was made, nothing realistic has turned out. Instead, the people witness big budgetary allocations worth billions of shillings for maintenance of the State House and the Prime Minister's Office and residence in Dar es Salaam.

Interestingly enough, the Prime Minister admits that the government's slow pace has been due to the country's poor economy - another excuse. Critics say it is due to lack of government priority on the project.

Three years ago, the same government allocated 3,000,000,000.00 (approximately USD 3,000,000) shillings for the maintenance of the Dar es Salaam State House. This would have been enough money for constructing a new state house in Dodoma. This year, 2006/07, the Prime Minister's office received 1,000,000,000 shillings in budgetary allocation for maintenance of offices in Dar es Salaam, out of the approved 12,757,683,800 shillings, of which only 427,945,000 has been allocated for the Dodoma capital city development. It is obvious that there is lack of political will to turn Dodoma the country's capital.

The Prime Minister has two residences and offices, one in Dodoma and another in Dar es Salaam, but he spends more time in Dar es Salaam. This is what the MP's question implies. Politely put, he wants to know why the government has neglected its own decision on Dodoma, yet it has spent millions of money in a project that never materialises. The newspaper, based on that background, sees an excuse in the government's reply, and so reports.

Does this warrant a threat by the Prime Minister, Lowassa and President Kikwete- the self-styled friends of the Tanzania's media? After all, did the newspaper get it wrong?

Whatever the case, Lowassa's reaction is undemocratic, unjustified and uncalled for; it should be reprimanded. It depicts a character in him that he wants hidden in newspapers: timidity.

He is on record as having used the media to character-assassinate his political competitors, and he would like to stay in control of the news so as to avoid being assassinated by others. To some of us this is corruption of the highest order, not befitting someone of the calibre of prime minister.

Since they came to power, theirs has been a government wary of criticism, up for praises; all out to muzzle the media either by befriending editors or by threatening them when they do not behave accordingly.'

To Lowassa, journalists are mere clerks or messengers whose duty is to write reports, not news, according to the master's whims. To him, good journalists are those that write in favour of the government and the ruling party. It is obvious that this government has no respect for the freedom of expression, the reason why it has tampered with the media stakeholders draft bill of the Freedom of Information Act that was meant to resuscitate the freedom of expression Tanzanians have never enjoyed since independence 45 years ago.

Word is out that the government has drafted a more sinister draft bill soon to be tabled in parliament in place of the media stakeholders' suitable draft bill. The media stakeholders have rejected the drafted bill, but the government is pushing it hard, for reasons better known to it.

Moreover, it is doing all this in the presence of a number of draconian laws that should have been amended or repealed long ago; against which human rights and media activists have been shouting' since early 1990s on the ground that they curtail freedom of expression in the country.

The government of the people' is behaving like, not the servant but, the master of the people. The Prime Minister's reaction - the threats, in fact - indicates that he regards his government not accountable to its people.

Our leaders are attempting to build a democratic country without democratic principles. They are failing to understand that their offices do not belong to them but to the people.

Ours is a government that has lost trust in the values of journalism, but would like to use the same journalism to hide our leaders' ugly deeds - their weakness. To them, whoever sees things differently, is wrong, and should be punished! One needs not predict what may come out of this brutal, and yet timid, behaviour of our leaders. It is detrimental to democracy and the fate of the country.

In addition, should all the people become timid and remain quiet too, soon or later, Tanzania will become a breeding ground for organised despotism that will kill the very spirit that should have been used to build the future of the country. Let us be frank. Leaders' threats coupled with empty media praises will do more harm than good to our country. Let's fight it intrepidly.

This article appeared in Tanzania Daima Newspaper of 19th November 2006. This is an altered, edited translation of the original Kiswahili version accessed at:

http://www.freemedia.co.tz/daima/2006/11/19/makala7.php