Media Strengthening

Investigative Journalism: The only way out of Corruption in Tanzania

From embezzlement scandals to the Richmond saga… the EPA scam and radar ordeal… to abuse of power, resignations and court charges… investigative journalism in Tanzania has now proven to be the only way to tame this monster called corruption.

Most people will agree that only five years ago journalism in Tanzania was going down and digging its own grave. This was due to the fact that all articles being published were based on press releases, press conferences, pubic rallies and advertisements.

Not because there was nothing to write, but because journalists asked themselves: “Why should we bother?” Yes, we tried to uncover some malpractices, but then no steps were taken against the accused, the situation got worse, and the journalists themselves became a laughing stock. But now, our time has come.

At Pact it all started with a program called MCA-BONGA, and the focus was to train journalists on investigative journalism in corruption and good governance so that the level of corruption in the country goes down. The Investigative Journalism training, widely known as IJ, kicked off and paid off.

The first IJ training was held in December 2006, and immediately after that the nation starting witnessing its first investigative story that finally showed results. This is the story in which the former Tanzanian Ambassador to Italy, Prof. Mahalu is accused of embezzlement of funds set aside to purchase the embassy building in Rome. A newspaper established with the aim of publishing investigative stories, ThisDay gets credit for the series of stories it printed, the government had to recall Prof. Mahalu, and his case is going on.

After realizing that if something is written changes happen, journalists decided to give it another try. This time it was the famous Richmond scandal that involved a fake company claimed to be registered in the United States, contracted to supply power to Tanzania during the time when there was power shedding. The newspapers wrote and wrote and wrote, and the result of that was the formation of a special committee in Parliament to investigate the matter, and eventually the resignation of Prime Minister Edward Lowassa, as well as two other Cabinet Ministers – Nazir Karamagi and Dr. Msabaha, who were both former Ministers for Energy.

Now the public started having faith in the journalism sector, and the journalists themselves did not want to fail the public. What we have seen since then is a series of investigative articles being published, a lot of corruption-related practices being uncovered, and other top government officials resign, while others are still watching their backs, not uncertain on what the future holds for them.

When Pact Tanzania introduced the Investigative Journalism program, the aim was to train only 60 journalists who would write at least 60 corruption-related articles. It was such a low target. But Pact then decided to go beyond its target, and since December 2006 to August 2008 when MCA was closing out, a total of 314 journalists have been trained country-wide.

The training sessions have included not only journalists, but also photographers and cartoonists who also have a role to play using their skills in the fight against corruption. The topics of the sessions have ranged from IJ in corruption and good governance, Public Expenditure Tracking (PETS), Procurement and Financial Regulations, Crime Reporting, and Natural Resource Management. Moreover, the level of corruption-related articles has increased from 476 per quarter, to over 1,500 per single quarter.

The Director for the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) Dr. Edward Hosea was quoted recently to say that the media in Tanzania is the reason that the fight against corruption in this country is now successful. He is absolutely right, for now journalists in this country can hold their heads high in confidence and shout that they have managed to help Tanzania get rid of this monster called corruption, although we still have a long way to go. At least they have paved the way.

And when we flash back and remember how the journalism sector used to be a laughing stock in the past and a saint right now, we could only agree with the notion that “He who laughs first, laughs last.”