Media licensing process officially set in motion

THE government has officially set in motion the process of licensing print media outlets in compliance with the Media Services Act 2016 and its regulations.

Speaking at a media briefing session in Dar es Salaam yesterday, the Director General of Tanzania Information Services (MAELEZO) and Chief government spokesperson Dr Hassan Abbasi, said all newspapers, journals, newsletters and magazines being published currently must be registered afresh.

He said October 15, 2017 had been set as the deadline for application of new licenses, as well as registration of all newspapers, magazines, newsletters and journals that are currently being produced.

Dr Abbasi said MAELEZO would process the applications at its offices in Dar es Salaam and Dodoma regions, stressing that, beyond the deadline, any publication that would not have finalized the procedures would not be allowed to operate, clarifying, however, that, this didn’t apply to fresh applicants.

The DG pointed out that the issuance of new licenses would now be done annually, to heed the legal requirements stipulated by the law and guided by its regulations announced in the Government Notice (GN), Number 18 of February, 3, 2017. Dr Abbasi explained that, in order to simplify the licensing and registration process, stakeholders could also access all the necessary information, including the application forms, payment account and the required supporting registration documents in its website: www.maelezo.com.

The chief government spokesperson urged media house managers, practitioners and proprietors to read and grasp the Act and its Regulations carefully for effective implementation, emphasizing that the major objective of the Act was to inject sanity into the profession.

According to Section 5 of the Media Services Act, 2016, the Director General of Tanzania Information Services is, among other things, charged with responsibility of licensing print media.