AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE government has warned western media against forcing African countries to be adherents to imported ideologies and foreign policies, an attribute which undermines their real independence as free nations.
Chief Government Spokesman Dr Hassan Abbasi said on Wednesday that the Western media must understand Africa’s destiny and desist from imposing their policies contrary to the continent’s development agenda.A
Dr Abbasi, who is also the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Arts and Sports, lambasted the behaviour of the Western media that believe “nothing is good unless it comes from the West.”
“This time Tanzania has used prayers, on top of all necessary health guidelines (except lockdowns) to contain the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic and truly the cases have tremendously slowed down,” he said.
He said this when reacting to a video clip aired by one of the western media (Sky News) accusing the government for not releasing Covid-19 data.
The Western media outlet accused Tanzanian leaders for claiming that the country has been healed from the pandemic through prayers while doctors know the truth but they are afraid to speak out.
According to the video clip, the media in Tanzania are suppressed, journalists are locked up and as a result there are no stories coming out.
Recently, President John Magufuli told Tanzanians to dedicate three days for thanksgiving prayers to the Almighty God for healing the nation from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We started with God and we should finish with Him… coronavirus cases have dropped in the country,” he said.
Tanzania has reopened colleges and sports activities as Covid-19 cases continue to decline.
Since the outbreak of the deadly disease, the government has issued preventive measures to ensure that the country’s population is kept safe against the pandemic.
The guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children require school and college managements to ensure availability of all essential equipment and facilities for fighting the disease.
