again silent on the issue of the showdown exhibited in Parliament by a member of the opposition and a cabinet minister followed by public outcry for action to allow independent investigations. So was the case in the stories of misuse of funds by Bank of Tanzania. Despite revealing evidence on abuse of power and mismanagement in the country’s Central Bank, no action was taken until an audit was recommended towards the end of the year. Such stories should have made headlines in the local press but none dared raise a voice, except a few tabloids. The appointment of a once vocal and outspoken media practitioner as Director of Communications in the President’s office attracted some attention. The move has been defended by one Government official as establishing cordial relations between the two. It was claimed that it is healthy if a member of the media is called to serve his country in any capacity. Although in 2003 President Mkapa had given a green light for Government ministries and departments to freely provide information to the media, there is still difficulty to penetrate the thick wall of secrecy. The pledge to reverse this trend by President Kikwete has not taken a concrete shape. Towards the end of the year, the President directed the ministries to conduct press briefings on a regular basis to allow the public follow developments in their respective areas. This directive on ‘meet the media’ is believed to be an attempt towards closing the gap. But much leaves to be seen on how the arrangement can provide access to the media to uncover abuses and mismanagement. The lack of appropriately trained media practitioners is of concern to the Government as it fears that information that is revealed might get distorted. It admits that even the Government lacks human resources capacity for information dissemination. As such the government would want to give training top priority. Legal environment Discussions on the provisions in the Freedom of Information Bill that was drafted two years ago continued during the year under review. As mentioned above the bill is currently awaiting Government approval. The objective of this proposed act is to provide public access to information in possession of state authorities and private bodies. It aims to promote and protect the privacy of individuals and their reputation, regulate media operations and promote independent, pluralistic broadcasting, provide for the protection of journalists’ confidential sources of information, as well as for the establishment of a Media Standards Board with powers to accredit journalists, set entrance qualifications, enforce ethical standards and handle consumer complaints about the media. When this new bill is passed, current media laws such as the Newspapers Act (1976), National Security Act (1970), Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority Act (1976) and the Penal Code (1945) will become extensively amended or repealed and brought under a single media law. The Constitution would accordingly be amended to accommodate these changes. Passing the bill into law also means ‘ineffective’ voluntary bodies like the Media Council of Tanzania will pave the way for a statutory body with powers to enforce compliance. Another significant development was the drafting of the Media Services Bill. The Coalition Committee made of institutions including Media Council of Tanzania, MISA Tanzania Chapter, Tanzania Media Women Association, Legal and Human Right Centre and Tanganyika Law So This Is Democracy? 2007 -101- Media Institute of Southern Africa