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| Features | | ‘Self-reliances makes the difference’ | Correspondent
Daily News; Tuesday,July 08, 2008 @20:04
| Statement by H.E. Mr George Huruma Mkuchika, (MP) Minister for Information, Culture and Sport to the Seventh Conference of Ministers of Information of Non-Aligned Countries (COMINAC VII), Isla Margarita, The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela 2-4 July 2008.
ALLOW me, at the outset, to express my gratitude and appreciation to the organisers of the Seventh Conference of Ministers of Information of the Non-Aligned Countries and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for inviting me to participate in this crucial conference.
I wish to express my thanks and appreciation for the overwhelming hospitality and warm welcome extended to us by our hosts, the Government and people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
My presence in this beautiful island of Margarita evokes good memories. It reminds of Zanzibar island, which united with the then Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania, an early example of a step towards African unity. Such unions are part of realising the dreams of the founding fathers of our nations; and I was greatly moved yesterday when His Excellency the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Commander Hugo Chavez recognised the contribution, to a broader unity among developing countries, of the father of the Tanzanian nation, the late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere.
Immediately after independence in 1961 and the Union in 1964 – and at the height of the cold war–Tanzania joined the Non-Aligned Movement. It was therefore fitting that Mwalimu Julius Nyerere was elected Chairman of the South-South Commission whose report on collective self reliance among the world’s poor countries outlined ways in which these countries could jointly tap their resources for accelerated development.
Mr Chairman and distinguished delegates;
What Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and members of the South-South Commission recommended in their report, and what His Excellency President Hugo Chavez emphasised here yesterday is that the developing countries should look inwards for solutions to their problems. We in Tanzania believe that collective self-reliance can make a difference in the third world. We are active in regional economic groupings such as the East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC). We fully support the initiatives being promoted by President Chavez for closer cooperation among member countries of the Non- Aligned Movement (NAM).
The media initiative –TELESUR–is important in redressing imbalances in the coverage of events in Non-Aligned Countries. It will promote the generation of local content and serve as a link among the people of states in the Non- Aligned Movement. One way is the use of African languages, in its programmes Tanzania pledges to support this project. As the Minister for Information, Culture and Sports of the United Republic of Tanzania, one of my briefs is the development and promotion of Kiswahili language, which is spoken in East and Central African countries and is one of the official languages of the African Union (AU). When TELESUR introduces programmes in African languages, Tanzania will be ready to provide expertise in Kiswahili.
Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen;
Most of the delegates in this conference have spoken of the inequalities existing in the world on social, economic and media orders. Coverage of our countries by the western media is minimal and most of the time negative and distorted. But sometimes even within our own borders, we have a section of the local media which can never see anything good done by the government. I am not suggesting that the media should sing praises, but it should not transform itself into an unregistered political opposition party.
One way of countering lopsided reporting on our countries by western media, is to promote media freedom in our own countries. I am pleased to report that Tanzania is among countries in Africa with a highly liberal press. We are in the process of moving legislation in Parliament to expand media freedom.
Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen;
The final declaration of this conference has proposals on how to promote cooperation in the field of information and the media. I propose that we set a time limit for implementing these proposals.
I thank you all for your attention. | | | | |
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