SECTOR 2 Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 2.8 (2012 = 2.7; 2010 = 1.7; 2008 = 2.4; 2006 = 1.6) 2.6 Government promotes a diverse media landscape with economically sustainable and independent media outlets. The Tanzanian media is diverse in terms of its ownership, although not in content, which the state allows in terms of registering many media outlets. Most media outlets are not economically sustainable, however, and the government does little to promote such sustainability, apart from providing the 30% tax break for Zanzibari broadcasters, waiving VAT for newspapers and making television cameras tax-free. Even that is being challenged. The government also does not specifically promote independent media outlets. “It’s one thing to remove the taxes from cameras, but for the electronic media our biggest cost is the equipment and we have lots of other expensive equipment on which we must still pay tax.” The state does not provide tax breaks for community media on the mainland and community radio stations do not benefit from the Rural Access Fund. The International Telecommunication Union’s Fund to Increase Access is specifically for laying fibre-optic networks and erecting transmission towers. “Not even people within the Information Ministry seem to know about this Fund to Increase Access, which is in the building of a parastatal, Airtel.” A participant noted cynically: “If you can get a local councillor involved in a media enterprise, then you may get some state money…” Mwananchi newspaper has turned the normal order of advertising on its head. Instead of having 60-70% of its advertisements from the state, the 34 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER Tanzania 2015