// 02.20.2009 at 2:48 pm //

The Internet leaves no footprints in Tanzania

The Internet is changing the face of politics across the world. Days when politicians solely relied on the traditional media — newspapers, TV and radio — to persuade voters are becoming a thing of the past.

The new media, powered by the Internet, is now the New World Order. World politicians such as U.S. President Barack Obama relied heavily on multimedia and social networks, coupled with microblogs such as Twitter, to spread their message. His Twitter account alone had about 285, 643 followers.

However, as multimedia rides high in the West, Africa is still lagging behind. This has much to do with the low Internet penetration in many countries. Most online trends are therefore beyond the reach of a majority of Africans.

Internet for communication

Tanzania has experienced a very rapid growth in Internet use. It is unclear whether the demand is from the local people or tourists, but the country’s local Internet user base is growing.

The number of Tanzanians accessing the Internet increased from 60,000 to more than 333,000 in the period 2000-2005. The number of Internet hosts has also increased by 300 per cent in the same period.

If you compare this number with the country’s population, estimated to be 37 million people, and with only 500,000 people having Internet access countrywide by mid 2007, penetration is still low.

Internet gaining foothold in Tanzania. (CC by; Photograph by Whiteafrican)

A recent survey by Tanzania’s Business Times shows that thousands of people flock into Internet cafes in the capital city Dar es Salaam everyday to surf the net and read e-mail. Increasingly, many people in the city are using the Internet as a means of communication.

There are more than 20 Internet cafes in Dar es Salaam’s central business district alone.The Zanzibar isles have at least five. Most Internet users are the youth, business people, professionals, students and the academia. E-mail services are the most popular at Internet cafes, followed by general website surfing.

Tanzania is one of the few African countries with a growing digital industry, and offers one of the cheapest Internet connections in the region. Retail Internet charges in most cafes in the capital city Dar es Salaam recently dropped from US$1.25 to US $0.625, which is equivalent to Tsh1,000 and 500 respectively per hour, but it is reported that these charges are enough to meet the operating costs and also profit. Some cafes also offer rent subscription services, whereby members have unlimited surfing time on a monthly flat fee of Tsh30,000 equivalent to US $37.50.

Printed vs. online

Tanzania is a good example of a country where most readers still prefer newspapers for their news over the Internet.

Online media and social networks have broken the printed newspaper’s monopoly of information, where during elections, publishers took sides.

In the case of Tanzania, where most newspapers do not reach the entire country, going online would be a perfect platform for politicians. This would save them time, since they would simply put out information once to reach many people.

However, politicians have failed to tap into this advantage to get the support of the youth, who are generally more tech-savvy.

Whereas the campaign team of then US Democratic candidate Obama used blogs to solicit for campaign funds as well as seeking more voters, Tanzania politicians still cling to their old ways of doing politics. They view the Internet as a reserve of the learned few, thus not worth investing in for the meantime.

Tanzanian politicians can gain a lot from the power of online media. It would, for example, give them the opportunity to voice their opinions and policies directly to their followers, without having to go through rigid gatekeepers found in newspapers, radio and television stations. And the space is unlimited too.

They can start their own blogs for quick, unlimited and free flow of information. Whereas regional and national printed newspapers are limited to the country in the case of Tanzania, the number of people who can be reached through online campaigns would go beyond the country’s physical borders.

This would give the politics of the country an international dimension and exposure, and in some instances, bring support from development partners on matter of government policies and development issues for example.

Social networks

Facebook, YouTube and Linkedin, among others, are some of the success stories of how most of the presidential candidates in Ghana’s recent presidential elections used to reach their “missing” audience abroad.

The youth were the main target in this campaign and media reports showed that a lot of positive gains were made — a good example being the News24 report.

However, this could be a disadvantage, as it could also be construed to be an impersonal way of communication. Studies have shown that people still prefer face-to-face communication. It would work for the cosmopolitan city dwellers.

Online campaigns could be particularly beneficial to opposition leaders, who could harness the benefits of online social networks by strengthening their support base. They could have online and forums and chat rooms with their supporters, who would then pass on the message to others.

The high number of politicians using blogs in the US shows that there is a lesson to be learned by Tanzanian politicians. Tanzanian journalist and blogger Ansbert Ngurumo says blogging is not journalism  because it lacks professional touch that distinguishes a trained journalist from an ordinary person who can read and write. He says the advantage of blogging is that it is a natural art for every human being. It is an expression of the human urge to communicate — which is a natural endowment.

Everyone can gather information and share it with others, although some people are more given to it than others, and some are trained to do it. And since blogging is all about gathering information, storing it and communicating, it is a form of non-formal journalism of modern times.

Not for the rich

Civic United Front (CUF) Chairman Profesa Ibrahimu Lipumba with Secretary General of the Party during their annual meeting in Dar es Salaam. Photograph courtesy ippmedia

However, Kent Mensah, an Online Editor with Africa’s largest citizen’s journalism network — Africanews.com — says the Internet is now a daily life that must be embraced by all. He stresses: “The Internet is no longer for the rich. These days, the influx of Internet cafes in low class communities has made it possible even for children to go online. Politicians must not underestimate the power of the Internet.”

It is time Tanzanian politicians realised the power of Online media.

“Politicians can now have direct chats and online discussions with their support base in any part of the world by using Facebook and Twitter. Technology has made it possible for them to hold mobile video conferences even at the countryside. All they need is a stable General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) connect,” he adds.

And for this reason, politicians have no excuse but to get connected.

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// Tagged Case Studies, CUF, Politics, Tanzania