‘Unofficial’ data could land you behind bars
By acclamation, Parliament passed the Statistics
Bill 2013, which slaps a stiff penalty on anyone who publishes data or
statistics outside the publications of the Tanzania National Bureau of
Statistics.
The bill was approved despite spirited resistance from some opposition MPs, led by Ubungo MP John Mnyika (Chadema).
Ironically, the bill that was moved by Finance
Minister Saada Mkuya Salum was withdrawn in February after a
cross-section of MPs and parties outside the national assembly
questioned the same provision that grants the National Bureau of
Statistics exclusive rights to publish data and statistics.
Attorney General George Masaju led the
government’s defence as the front bench joined forces to defeat
objections by the opposition, which accused the ruling party’s MPs of
passing the “offensive” bill without considering the consequences.
Yesterday’s move was immediately criticised by
media activists and governance and human rights organisations that view
the bill as a major setback in the government’s own push for the Open
Government Initiative championed by President Jakaya Kikwete. They
appealed to Mr Kikwete not to sign the bill into law if he was serious
and committed to the Open Government Initiative, which has won him
international acclaim.
The Media Council of Tanzania Executive Secretary,
Mr Kajubi Mukajanga, pointed out that stakeholders had in February
criticised the Bill heavily, particularly the section that touches on
publication of unauthorised statistics. “It is amazing that they would
retain such a provision now,” he said. Mr Mukajanga has vowed to comment
more after he reviews the bill.
Mr Onesmo Olengurumwa, one of the co-ordinators of
the Tanzania Human Rights Defender Coalition, said the passing of the
bill will have a significant effect on private institutions in academia
because making NBS the only institution allowed to approve statistics
would curtail research and freedom to challenge NBS data. “It is
retrogressive in the current world for the government to pass such a
law,” he said. “What we see is a move to force on the people what the
government wants them to believe.”
Dr Hellen-Kijo Bisimba, the executive director of
the Legal and Human Rights Centre, said she was shocked that the
parliamentarians should be so lacking in wisdom and grace.
Said Dr Bisimba: “This is a desperate and
calculated move by a draconian government keen on stamping out dissent
and alternative views. They are doing it with an ulterior motive as the
country heads to a General Election. We will not stop making noise until
the bad law is removed if the President assents to it. It defeats logic
that while we are struggling to remove numerous bad laws from our
statutes, this government is adding more.”
Mr Alex Ruchyahinduru, Communication and Advocacy
Manager at Policy Forum, expressed the same sentiments and added that
the law would affect the way research and academic institutions do their
work. “These institutions will lack the space and freedom to exercise
their duties, some of them critical to national development,” he said.
In Dodoma, some MPs saw yesterday’s move as a sign
that the government intends to approve two other controversial bills on
Media Services and Access to Information that are to be tabled as a
matter of urgency.
