Tanzania Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa has urged the county’s public broadcaster, Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) to broadcast contents that safeguards national values.
Mr. Majaliwa made the call last Tuesday, during the launch of TBC2 and TBC1 morning show, Jambo Tanzania, in Dar es Salaam.
In a speech read on his behalf by Minister for Information, Communication and Information Technology, Nape Nnauye, the Prime Minister said TBC contents should focus on strengthening the union, promoting patriotism, preserving Tanzanian traditions and customs, promoting the Kiswahili language, and protecting the nation’s independence and values.
“Make good use of a new system that meets the requirements of time by enhancing the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) to reach more youth in the country, who are conversant with the latest technologies invented each day,” he said.
He also encouraged the public broadcaster to improve the creativity of news gathering and distribution, as well as other radio and television programs.
He further encouraged TBC to create a content that will unite Tanzanians, promote patriotism, protect freedom and create a working environment, especially for young people.
“Help young people realize their role in safeguarding national values, especially in ICT transformation, where there has been widespread fake news,” he noted.
The National Broadcaster was also told to strengthen connections with local and international institutions, to organize concerts and conferences so that TBC can receive programming that will make Tanzanians happy, and to establish a sports channel that brings athletes closer together.
Another directive was to improve ICT systems, so that the public can have unrestricted access to TBC material.
On his part, Mr. Nnauye said TBC should consider having a news bulletin in English, to reach out to the international community.
Good Neighbors Tanzania (GNTZ) built a modern studio building in partnership with TBC, with financial support from SBS and Community Chest Korea.
TBC 2 specializes in youth content, entertainment and sports. TBC 1 specifically for national content and TBC Safari Channel for tourism promotion.
TBC Director-General Ayub Rioba said the Jambo Tanzania program has been around for a while, but the new version has been improved to meet the needs of its viewers.
“TBC2 had been around for a while as a pay-per-view channel, but we saw a need to keep it free to reach more people with youth content and close the gap that TBC1 had created,” he said.
He explained that the building is the result of a visit by a former Korean Ambassador to TBC, where they discussed and offered a proposal that the embassy approved, and the government, through TBC, filed a project paper to the embassy in 2017.
TBC and GNT inked a studio building deal, while TBC and the Korea Radio Promotion Association (RAPA) signed an equipment procurement agreement, according to Dr Rioba.
He further said the total cost of the project was 3.4bn/-, with 726m/- coming from the Tanzanian government. The facility features a studio that can accommodate up to 300 people for varied activities, as well as training rooms and other spaces for a small studio.