Zanzibar lifts ban on newspapers

But gov't still determines who practises as a journalist

THE government of Zanzibar recently lifted the ban on the sale and circulation of two privately owned newspapers. The ban on the Kiswahili language newspapers from the Tanzania mainland, Majira and Mtanzania, was lifted by President Salim Amour at the 35th anniversary of the Zanzibar Revolution.

He alleged that the two newspapers had initially assumed the role of the opposition's forum and had "provoked, instigated, despised and made a mockery of everything good done by the ruling party, the government and its leaders." He noted that during 1998, newspapers in Zanzibar had made significant positive changes towards professionalism and were making an effort to stick to ethics and respect in their reportage and he hoped that the two newspapers would follow suit once unbanned.

Majira was banned in January 1996 after it was accused by the government of publishing "seditious and malicious" articles against the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party. The government cited a number of articles carried by the paper questioning President Amour's conduct following the October 1995 general elections. Mtanzania was banned in August 1998 after being accused of publishing a false story about the ruling party in its August 17 edition.

Journalist banned

But while the government's move was being applauded, the authorities in Zanzibar banned a local freelance journalist from working on the island. The journalist, Mwinyi Sadalla, files stories for the mainland-based private news agency, Press Services of Tanzania. Announcing the ban, the Director of Information Services said that his directorate would only consider Sadalla's application for permission when he refrained from 'inventing' stories and worked on the island according to 'professional ethics'.

The Zanzibari Newspaper Act of 1988 gives the Director power to grant authorisation, as he may deem fit, to practise journalism on the island, "on receipt of an application made in that behalf and upon payment by the applicant of the prescribed fee (if any) …provided that the Director may, without assigning reasons therefor refuse to issue any authorisation under this subsection or suspend or revoke any authorisation issued by him." Journalists in Tanzania, and particularly, in Zanzibar, have been under constant pressure to toe the official line or risk losing their government accreditation.

Local journalists and especially foreign correspondents based in Tanzania have to pay exorbitant fees each year to obtain press accreditation. Those who are unable to pay the fees often are unable to write for their publications. A journalist without accreditation is not authorised to cover official events and may even be prevented from reporting non-official events. Accreditation is often given by Ministry of Information officials at the discretion of the Director responsible for authorising whether or not a journalist can work as a journalist in Tanzania. The question of accreditation by the government has come under scrutiny from international press freedom pressure groups.