The President of Zanzibar, Dr. Hussein Mwinyi on Tuesday urged the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in Africa to embrace digital technologies if they want to stay relevant and keep up with the changes in the rapidly evolving global media landscape.
During the official launch of the 37th Southern African Broadcasting Association (SABA), Dr. Mwinyi stated that if Public Broadcasters do not organize themselves well and be ready for technological changes, they will lose their audience, rendering massive investments in their operations valueless.
The SABA meeting was convened to discuss how broadcasters can continue to sustain themselves economically and remain relevant amid advancements in digital technologies. “We, the members of Saba, have agreed that it’s the right time to ensure that public broadcasting has reliable sources of income so that they can withstand financial challenges and thus properly fulfill the concept of promoting and protecting African culture,” Dr. Mwinyi insisted.
He said, “You have to create, manage, and implement firm and measurable strategies to cope with the technological changes in the world”. He further called for heavy investments in the procurement of working infrastructure and modern equipment to enable public broadcasters to compete in the contemporary world of science and technology.
In 1993, the non-profit, non-governmental organization was launched to promote quality broadcasting by enhancing professionalism and the credibility of public service broadcasting among SADC countries.
“Unless we strategically change with technology; time will forcefully change us. And, if we wait for time to change us, we risk rendering our entities irrelevant and unattractive to the public,” he warned.
Dr Mwinyi reminded the meeting delegates of the key role that the media, especially radio, television, and social network plays in economic growth, national integration, and political prosperity in southern Africa and the entire African continent.
“You have to embrace innovation and ensure that the information and broadcasting sub-sector provides true and authentic news to wananchi,” President Mwinyi said, appreciating the critical role that the media plays in the social, political, cultural, and economic development of any society.
He informed the meeting that Tanzania and some SABA member countries have agreed to empower their public broadcasters to have their own reliable sources of income to effectively promote, preserve, and market the African culture.
He said Tanzania through the Ministry of Information, Communication and Information Technology is enacting a law that will identify the responsibilities of Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) and other related matters to allow the public broadcaster to deliver efficiently.
President Mwinyi challenged other SABA members to emulate Tanzania in empowering their respective public broadcasters.
SABA President, Stanley Benjamin said the regional grouping in public broadcasting is determined to disseminate authentic information in the region and Africa. “SABA is an important element in business because we want to tell authentic African stories,” he said, adding: “There are beautiful stories to tell about Africa and we must be the writers; not otherwise.”
The President decried an alarming wave of fake news in the media, saying public broadcasters must have the skills and capacity to tell genuine from fake news. He said public media have the role to report on well-researched ills in governments but, ” …balance reporting should remain key to our work; everybody must have an opportunity to be heard.”
TBC Director General, Dr Ayubu Rioba described the hosting of the meeting as a privilege to Tanzania, saying it’s the third out of SABA’s 30 meetings to be convened in the country.