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Africa Media Review, Vol. 3 No. 3,1989©African Council on Communication Education

The Role of the Mass Media in theImplementation of Tanzania's

Foreign Policy: Reality andProspects.

by Sethi Kamuhanda*

Abstract

This article surveys the relationship between the mass media and the govern-ment in Tanzania with respect to the implementation of the country's foreignpolicy. It argues that although there is a unanimous acknowledgement of massmedia's role in the conduct of foreign affairs worldwide and even amongTanzania's leadership, a lingering suspicion of journalists persits among mostgovernment officials which makes them withhold vital information from thecountry's local mass media. It recommends, among other things, an opendialogue between the officials of the Foreign Ministry and the press in theeffort to forge a working relationship that would facilitate wide debate in theconduct of foreign affairs and international issues as it is the case in asocialist democracy.

*Mr. Sethi Kamuhanda is a Senior Staff Worker of the Tanzania News Agency(SHIHATA).

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Rdle des masses medias dans lapolitique exterieure de la Tanzanie:Realites et Perspectives d'avenir.

Resume

L'article fait un survol des relations entre les masses medias etle gouvernement en tanzanie vis-a-vis de I'execution de lapolitique exterieure du pays. L'article soutient que bien qu 'il yait une reconnaissance unanime du role des masses mediasdans la conduite des affaires de la politique exterieure aussibien a travers le monde que parmi les autorites tanzaniennes, ilya une suspicion persistante chez la plupart des fonctinnairesdu gouvernment qui fait qu'ils retiennent des informationsvitales pour ies masses medias Iocaux du pays. II recommandeentre autres choses, un dialogue ouvert entre les fonction-naires du ministere des affaires etrangeres et la presse, en vuede forger une relation qui pourrait faciliter un large debat dansla conduite des affaires etrangeres et des problemes inter-nationaux ainsi que c'est le cas dans une vraie democratiesocialiste.

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Introduction

Almost every government today attaches specific importanceto the role of the mass media in the conduct of its foreignpolicy. The complexities of international politics characte-rized, in recent decades, by the multiplication of actors in theinternational system have automatically led to an increasingrole of information in international relations.

For instance, in the ideological and political sphere, it is nolonger uncommon for governments to engage in overt foreignpolicy propaganda. This is clearly demonstrated by the factthat over 80 countries today have radio stations broadcastingto listeners abroad. This is apart from propaganda dissemi-nated through wire services and the print media.

In the United States, for example, foreign policy propagandaranks high on the list of the U.S. government's priorities. Theannual budget of the United States Information Agency (USIA),which co-ordinates U.S. foreign propaganda is close to onebillion dollars. With 200 branches in 129 countries around theworld, USIA is the biggest government propagandaorganization in the world today.

Generally, the U.S. foreign policy propaganda and that of theother developed capitalist countries) is basically aimed at just-ifying and promoting their policies abroad economic or militaryand undermining the socialist system as a whole. One can citethe justification of the U.S. military invasion of Grenada in 1983by the U.S. media and the active role played by the same mediain the toppling of the Chilean government of Salvador Allendein 1973. In the latter case the U.S. media launched a vitriolicand vicious propaganda campaign against the Allende govern-ment immediately after it came to power in the early 1970s.

The arsenal of American propaganda, including leading news-papers such as the New York Times, Washington Post andChristian Science Monitor, were mobilized against Chile espe-cially after the government nationalized U.S.—based copper

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mulitnational corporations operating in the country. The U.S.media deliberately portrayed a negative and perverted image ofChile which skewed reader perception on what was actuallytaking place there. This helped to shape an anti-Allende publicopinion in the U.S. which was finally exploited by the U.S.government, through the CIA., to overthrow the popularlyelected Allende government. This was in line with the U.S.foreign policy of protecting its so-called economic interests inLatin America.

On the other hand, in the socialist countries, the role of themass media in foreign policy is organically linked with thepromotion of the overall foreign policy principles of thesecountries which include the maintenance of world peace andsecurity, peaceful co-existence, support for national liberationstruggles, and the consolidation of socialist gains. Oneexample of this is the current media support in almost allsocialist countries for peace initiatives toward nuclear disarm-ament, especially the recently signed Intermediate NuclearForces (INF) treaty.

Theoretically, the role of the mass media in the implement-ation of foreign policy of any country is mainly connected withthe whole question of public opinion and the right of people toknow what their government is doing in its foreign relations.This is primarily derived from the fact that the foreign policy ofa country is normally formulated and conducted within thelimits set by the actual, presumed, or potential demands of thepublic. In other words, public opinion constitutes one of thefactors which a government takes into account when makingits foreign policy decisions.

It follows, therefore, that government has the obligation toinform its people about its various commitments and activitiesin the international system with a view to gaining popularsupport for the realization of its foreign policy objectives. Thepeople, on the other hand, have the right to monitor thebehaviour of their government to ensure that it is in line withnational aspirations. The mass media, being the principalchannels for the articulation of public opinion, serve as an

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important link between the government and the public. Addi-tionally, the mass media have an added task of projecting thecountry's political image to the outside world. Hence the roleof a country's mass media is as important in the successfulimplementation of foreign policy as it is in the realization ofdomestic policy.

It is specifically for this reason that nowadays diplomats frequ-ently analyse the contents of the local media, especially thepress, to gain additional information about official attitudesand the policies of a host country. This means that the mediaalso serve as a barometer for gauging the behaviour of the hostgovernment on various local and international issues.

This paper makes a survey of the relationship between themass media and the government in Tanzania with regard toforeign policy implementation. What role does the media playin the overall implementation of the country's foreign policy?Does the government's behaviour generally facilitate the workof the media in playing that role? This paper attempts toanswer these questions and more.

Tanzania's Foreign PolicyConceptually, the role of the mass media in the implement-ation of Tanzania's foreign policy could only be understood inthe context of the country's fundamental foreign policyprinciples which include equality, search for world peace andjustice, non-alignment, African unity and African liberation(Mushi and Mathews 1981). And if we are to define foreignpolicy a la Mahendra (in Kumar 1982) as a thoughtout course ofaction for achieving objectives in foreign relations as dictatedby national interest, then the above principles constitute, so tospeak, the pedestal on which Tanzania's foreign policy isbased.

These foreign policy principles mainly derive from the politicalprogramme of the Party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi, of socialismand self-reliance. In other words, Tanzania's foreign policy isboth a tool and an extension of the policy of socialism and self-reliance as enunciated in the 1967 Arusha Declaration. This

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tallies with the conventional wisdom in international relationsdiscourse that a country's foreign policy is mostly anextension of its domestic policy. In Tanzania this is reinforcedby the fact that foreign policy is formulated by the Party'sNational Executive Committee (NEC) which also makesdomestic policy decisions.

The International SystemUnder normal circumstances, the behaviour of government inthe internationai system should reflect the objectives of thepolitical system at home. However, it is quite difficult to say forsure whether this normally happens, especially in internationaleconomic relations.

The problem arises when one considers the fact that the inter-national environment in which the government operates isgenerally a hostile one. The relentless efforts to maintain thestatus quo mounted by the beneficiaries of the present inter-national system dominated, as it were, by capitalist relations,is but one of the basic characteristics of this inherent hostility.Hence any attempt to bring changes in the internationalsystem as sought by Tanzania's foreign policy is automaticallymet with stiff resistance if not outright sabotage of the changeinducers. The overthrow of progressive regimes in variousparts of the world through imperialist engineered coups d'etatonly shows the magnitude of the problem.

At the same time, the proliferation of actors in the globalsystem in recent decades has further complicated the art ofconducting foreign policy. Diplomats no longer confine them-selves to political and security issues, but have to deal with thecontentious multiple problems of international economicrelations. In this task they are now joined by another set ofactors comprising mainly government bureaucrats and parast-atal executives. This means that the implementation of foreignpolicy has been diversified and is no longer the preserve of thecareer diplomat alone.

In this complex international milieu, the danger of temptationand detraction from one's national objectives and aspirationscannot, therefore, be ruled out. It is mainly for this reason and

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the fact that successful implementation of foreign policydepends, to a larger extent, on popular support at home, thatcommunication between the government and the publicshould be maintained. Indeed one variable that helps tomeasure the level of communication between the two sides isthe mass media which are the principal channels throughwhich communications from either side are received.

Media—Government Relations in TanzaniaIt is necessary to make a distinction between the media's rela-tionship with the government as regards domestic affairs andtheir relationship concerning external matters. This distinctionis important because, in reality, the government behavesdifferently towards the mass media on domestic issues ascompared to foreign policy matters.

For example, while on matters of a domestic nature thegovernment has been able to fully utilize the services of thenational media for the mobilization of the people for variouspurposes, this is not always the case when it comes to foreignpolicy issues. In the latter case, the government's behaviour issomehow characterized by a certain measure of secrecy. Noone disputes the right of any government to operate in secret,especially in view of the complexities of international politics.Indeed both the media and government in Tanzania share thecommon belief that some news must be withheld for publicgood. However, unnecessary or excessive secrecy can easilylead to the alienation of the government from the people and,worse, create an ill-informed public.

The secrecy now characterizing the government's behaviourwith regard to foreign policy matters is mainly reinforced bythe negative attitude with which some government andparastatal officials view the mass media in the country. Theseofficials view media people with suspicion—a suspicion thatseems to be asking the Ruskian question: whose side are youon? The media people are sometimes erroneously seen asbeing unpatriotic and, therefore, people who cannot betrusted. The result is that it is not uncommon for the media

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people to be told by this or that public official that 'we don'trun the government through the media'. And this is despite thefact that both the media and the government which is the prin-cipal owner of the media in Tanzania have the same goal ofserving the people.

While it could be acknowledged that some local journalists inTanzania are comparatively incompetent, it is erroneous toconsider ail media people as such. On the contrary, the countryhas some of the best journalists in terms of both professionalexcellence and ideological clarity. The unfortunate thing isthat some of them are currently underutilized.

Equally important is the fact that even the incompetence ofsome journalists has something to do with the attitude ofsome public officials towards the media. The old saying that areporter is no better than his sources is as valid today as it wastwo hundred years ago. A reporter can only write a good,balanced story if his source cooperates in providing the nece-ssary information. If those who are occupying positions ofauthority in government and, therefore, are knowledge-ableabout certain issues including those on foreign policy object-ives refuse to cooperate, the reporter will obviously either writea poor story out of the skeleton information at his disposal, orwrite no story at all. In both cases, the casualty is the publicwho will have been denied that information.

This, however, does not mean that the media are all-perfect. Onthe contrary, they have some imperfections. For instance,most Tanzanian journalists lack adequate professionaltraining. As a result, the majority of them are jacks of all tradesand masters of none. This, of course, negatively affects theirprofessional performance. But these imperfections should notbe the excuse for denying the public information on mattersthat directly or indirectly affect their well-being. Instead,efforts should be made to overcome those imperfections.

Furthermore, withholding information has the other effect ofinhibiting the media from effectively projecting the country'simage abroad for, as Party and government organs, the mediaare supposed to be the major instruments for projecting the

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socialist aims of the country. To be able to perform such atask, the media must have the necessary information to writewith authority as well on matters concerning foreign relations.Otherwise the media would be demagogic and parochial intheir approach and less effective in projecting the country'ssocialist aims to the outside world.

International Political RelationsThe Tanzanian government appears to be more open to themedia concerning its international political and culturalrelations. The government is often more readily available to themedia to comment on such issues as African liberation,African Unity, non-alignment and so forth. Furthermore,Mwalimu Nyerere often addressed the public on topical inter-national issues. These have significantly helped to create anenlightened public opinion in the country especially on thequestion of African liberation on which Tanzania maintains anunequivocal stand.

As a result, there is strong public support for governmentdecisions in this area. An example is the overwhelming masssupport for the call by the Party to extend increasedassistance to the people of Mozambique who are fightingSouth African-backed RENAMO bandits. No doubt suchsupport greatly enhances the good political image of thecountry internationally and also helps to ease the task of theMinistry of Foreign Affairs which, until recently, alone dealtwith the country's international political affairs.

International Economic RelationsOn the other hand, the behaviour of the government in inter-national economic relations is inadequately covered by thelocal media. Government activities in this important area areusually shrouded in secrecy making it quite difficult for themedia to report them. The fact that several factor ministriesand parastatal organizations-are involved in the implement-ation of the country's foreign economic relations further comp-licates the matter (Mushi and Mathews 1981). In practice, it isvery difficult to monitor the behaviour of these actors to see

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whether it is in line with national interest or not. The recentrevelations by a select Parliamentary probe committee on theactivities of Dar Tadine Tanzania company in the country is aclear indication that the problem is real.

From a political perspective, this is not a healthy situationsince it has far-reaching repercussions on the country's effortsto build socialism and self-reliance. This is borne by the factthat for a country like Tanzania, which seeks to buildsocialism, the management of its foreign economic relations isof crucial importance. Without this, the possibility ofdetraction and sabotage through economic corruption andmanipulation by the opponents of socialism becomes almostunavoidable. By the same token, the country's foreign policycan only be effective if the country possesses a strong self-reliant economy (NEC 1987)

One would expect the local media to play a more dynamicwatchdog role by pointing out any signs of detraction from thefundamental political philosophy guiding the conduct of thecountry's international economic relations. Yet, for variousreasons, this has not been the case. The media's coverage ofTanzania's foreign economic relations continues to be chara-cterized by a certain measure of timidity. For instance,although the country has increasingly depended on externalaid for its development financing contrary to the stated policyof self-reliance, the media have almost been completely mumover the issue* and have not questioned the political implica-tions of such a trend vis-a-vis the country's long term objectiveof building socialism and self-reliance.

Surprisingly, much of their attention is given to official signingof aid agreements between the government and foreigncountries or companies. Pictures showing foreign envoyssigning agreements at the Treasury are almost a daily featureof the local press. This has unwittingly created a beggar image(for lack of a better nomenclature) of the country in the publicmind and, at the same time, makes a mockery of the wholeconcept of self-reliance.

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By doing this, the local press is unconsciously promoting theforeign policies of donor countries. The fact that the presenceof a pressman at the signing ceremony at the Treasury hasnow been turned into a virtual ritual only helps to underline theimportance which different nations attach to the role of themedia in the promotion of their real or perceived foreign policyobjectives.

Parliamentary Committee on Foreign AffairsIt is encouraging that the government seeks to increase theflow of information to the public on foreign policy issues. Tothat end, a Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs (PCFA)was formed in 1972 with the aim of using members ofParliament to disseminate information about trends in thecountry's foreign policy.

Although the role of the Committee is mainly advisory, it hasthe following functions:

(i) To discuss and analyse strategies for the implementationof foreign policy decisions, and

(ii) To inform the public about what is happening outsideTanzania's boarders.

While it is difficult to tell exactly how effective the Committeehas been in carrying out its first function, it is not so in thecase of the second function. Evidence indicates that theCommittee has been less effective in ensuring that the publicis informed about what is happening outside the country'sfrontiers. This is clearly shown by the low level of foreign policydebates in Parliament (Mushi and Mathews 1981), especiallyon Tanzania's external economic relations. Implicitly, thisreflects the lack of information at the disposal of the MPs onthe country's foreign policy. Again the government is partly toblame for this state of affairs.

A recent study conducted on the role of the Committee has, forinstance, indicated that the Committee's ineffectiveness incarrying out its functions has something to do with the largemeasure of secrecy with which decisions on foreign policy are

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made and implemented. It concludes that, generally, foreignpolicy in the country is less open to public debate and scrutiny(Cheka1985).

Conclusion and Recommendations

Efforts are still needed to enable the local media to play a moreeffective role in the implementation of Tanzania's foreignpolicy. Both the Party and government (as the principal ownersof the media in the country) should create favourableconditions for the media to facilitates their work of projectingthe country's foreign policy objectives to the outside world.

This is extremely important at this crucial historical juncturewhen the country is going through a transitional periodtowards socialism. It should be borne in mind that in anysociety the mass media, as ideological organs, normallyfunction within the limits set by those who own and controlthem. Their effectiveness is always conditioned, if not deter-mined, by the amount of support they get from their owners.

In the Tanzanian context, this means that the media's effect-iveness in the implementation of the country's foreign policydepends, to a large extent, on the support of the Party andgovernment. This is the inescapable truth.

Yet, to be meaningful,such support should transcened meredeclared intentions, however good they are. Instead, supportshould be expressed in concrete terms.

As an ideological weapon in the hands of the Party and govern-ment committed to building socialism, the media should doaway with formalism and, instead, play a more militant role bygiving wide publicity to the construction of socialism. Theyshould more persistently defend the cause of socialism than itis the case now.

Moreover, the current trend whereby the media have to wait forthis or that government official to speak about a certain issuebefore they could editorially comment on it has killed theprofessional initiative of local journalists and seriously sappedtheir creativity.

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In order to reverse this unhealthy trend and ensure that thenational media play a more effective and positive role in theimplementation of the Party's policy on foreign relations, thefollowing measures are recommended:

1. The local media should be enabled to freely analyse andinitiate debates on international issues which affect,directly or indirectly, the construction of socialism in thecountry;

2. Communication between the Ministry of Foreign Affairsand the mass media should be streamlined to ensureregular contact. This could be done by the introduction ofmonthly press briefings by the ministry to acquaintmembers of the media with both conceptual and practicaltrends in the country's foreign poicy and position intopical international issues;

3. Public officials should be educated on the role of themass media in the Tanzanian society, especially in theconstruction of socialism. This will help to eradicate thecurrent suspicion of the media by some officials.Suspicion inhibits the work of the media and indirectlydiminishes the social value of journalism in the countryas a whole;

4. The discussion of foreign policy, especially the country'sexternal economic relations in Parliament should beencouraged through the strengthening of the Parliamen-tary Committee on Foreign Affairs (PCFA). This isbecause, Parliament is a vital forum through which thegovernment can enlighten the public on a number of inter-national issues;

5. Journalism training in the country should be upgraded todegree level. The present training offered at the TanzaniaSchool of Journalism (TSJ) is professionally inadequate.It falls short of producing professionally competent jou-rnalists who can effectively face the challenge of journa-lism in a society like Tanzania which aspires to buildsocialism, since building socialism requires a new type ofjournalist, a journalist who is ideologically clear andcapable of clearly comprehending the dynamics of social

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change and wider global issues. This type of journalisthas to be deliberately moulded through systematic train-ing.

References

Cheka, Mbonl (1985). The Role of the Parliamentary Committee on ForeignAffairs in the Formulation of Tanzania's Foreign Policy', CFR, pp. 1316.

Kumar, M. (1982). Theoritical Aspects of International Politics Delhi: Agarwalaand Sons, p. 325

Mushi, S. and K. Mathews (ed.) Foreign Policy of Tanzania 1961—1981: AReader, Dares Salaam: Tanzania Publishing House.

N.E.C. (1987). The Party Programme 1987—2002. Dodoma.

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