Media Association of Tanzania (MOAT) has congratulated the Parliamentary
Standing Committee on Infrastructure for responding positively to an
advice it made that called for the government to suspend its decision of
switching off analogue broadcasting in regions that are lined up for the
new digital broadcasting.
According to a press statement issued yesterday by MOAT Chairman Dr
Reginald Mengi , the association of media owners has positively welcomed
advice by the Parliamentary committee.
MOAT has, in the past few weeks, been calling upon the government through
the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority ( TCRA) to suspend the
time table of switching off analogue broadcasting in the regions lined up
for the new broadcasting system, paving the way for the formation of a task
force that would look into challenges and obstacles facing the new system,
including putting forward recommendations on how best to carry out the
transition.
The task force would also visit all areas where digital broadcasting system
is now operational to assess the situation on the ground before making
recommendations on how to resolve problems found.
In the plea, MOAT has been asking the government to allow both systems –
analogue and digital broadcasting – to operate concurrently while
facilitating the transition to take place gradually.
The recommendation, which the government accepted, to suspend the switching
off of analogue broadcasting in the lined up regions, was issued by the
Parliamentary committee on Wednesday after a daylong meeting in Dar es
Salaam where senior officials of the Ministry of Communications, Science
and Technology under Prof Makame Mbarawa, MOAT committee members under
their chairman Dr Mengi and the TCRA under Director General Prof John Nkoma
attended.
The advice by MOAT to the government was made after realizing that having
switched off analogue broadcasting in some regions, including Dar es
Salaam, Tanga, Dodoma and Arusha a huge number of people were missing TV
broadcasts, throwing the advertising market into disarray.
MOAT has also congratulated the minister Prof Mbarawa and Parliamentary
committee chairman Peter Serukamba for working positively on their advice.