TANZANIA: PRESIDENT SAMIA SULUHU LIFTS BAN ON MEDIA

Tue 06 March 2021:

Media houses in Tanzania that had been closed, banned or denied licenses to operate by the former government will now be allowed to reopen, the county’s president announced on Tuesday.

In a move hailed as a positive future for press freedom in Tanzania, President Samia Suluhu ordered the Information Ministry to lift the ban on media outlets mainly for criticizing the former government.

Speaking at the State House in the capital Dar-es-Salaam, Suluhu said that as long as the media respect law and guidelines, they will be allowed to operate.

“I am told you revoked licenses of some media outlets, including some online television stations. You should lift the ban but tell them to follow the law and government guideline,” the president ordered the ministry.

The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), the country’s media regulatory body, has in the past tightened the noose on press freedom in the country.

According to a report by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Tanzania became “increasingly authoritarian” after John Magufuli became president in 2015. None of the 180 countries ranked in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index has suffered such a precipitous decline in recent years.