Media Bill officially withdrawn.

...

INNOCENT-THE BLOGGER-BOY

The Minister of State in the President's Office (Special Duties), Prof. Mark Mwandosya.

The government has officially confirmed withdrawal of Access to Information Bill, 2015 which was scheduled to be tabled in the House today, saying that the bill will be tabled in the next parliament.

 

The official announcement was made in Parliament yesterday by the Minister of State in the President's Office (Special Duties), Prof. Mark Mwandosya.

 

Prof Mwandosya told the National Assembly that the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Affairs had advised the Parliament that the bill needed more time in order to give opportunities to media stakeholders to read, review and provide their opinions before it was tabled in the National Assembly.

 

“The government has considered concerns of media stakeholders and we accepted their suggestions, thus I officially declare that the Access to Information Bill, 2015 will not be tabled in this Parliament,” Prof Mwandosya declared.

 

The Minister of State added that the bill would be tabled for second time in the next parliament so as to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to improve the bill by providing their professional contributions.

 

He added that, the government goal was to make sure “we come up with better laws for all”.

 

The bill was tabled for the first time in March this year and was scheduled to be tabled for second time on June 27 (today). On Monday last week media stakeholders wanted the planned second reading of the Access to Information Bill, 2015 to be postponed.

 

Meadia stakeholders from Tanzania Editors Forum (TEF), Media Council of Tanzania (MCT), Tanzania Constitutional Forum and Tanzanian Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC) met with members of the Parliamentary Committee on Community Development on Monday last week in Dodoma and advised the committee to ask the parliamentary to postpone its plan to read the bill for second time.

 

Stakeholders said that the bill needed to be reviewed to suit the demands of stakeholders and Tanzanians in general.

 

Executive Secretary of the Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) Kajubi Mukajanga (pictured) said media stakeholder supported the Committee’s stand that the bill passes through the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Constitutional Affairs before it is tabled in the National Assembly. 

 

Representative from the Tanzania Constitutional Forum, Deusi Kibamba said that almost all the sections in the Access to Information Bill have a number of discrepancies. 

 

He said while on one hand the bill offers freedom of expression and information to a given group it restricts the same in other sections.

 

Mariagoreth Charles from the Coalition on the Right to Information in Tanzania (CORI) cited section 6 (6) of the bill saying it threatens journalists from collecting information and distributing it to the public.

 

Media Owners Association of Tanzania (MOAT) and Media Institute of Southern Africa, Tanzania Chapter (MISA-Tan) cautioned against tabling of the Bill, 2015 and warned that should it be endorsed, it would hold back the nation’s efforts to promote good governance and transparency.

 

Eerier in March this year the government had scheduled to table the two Bills (the Media Services Bill and the Access to Information Bill) under certificate of urgency.

 

According to the parliament timetable the government had planned to debate seven Bills including the Access to Information Bill, 2015 for ten days soon after the ongoing budget meeting that ends today.

 

The other Bills are The Tanzania Postal Bank (Repeal and Transitional Provisions), Bill 2015, The Oil and Gas Bill, 2015, The Tanzania Extractive Industry (Transparency and Accountability) Bill, 2015 and The Teachers Service Commission Bill, 2015, The bill for Oil and Gas Revenues Management Act, 2015.