The government has agreed to provide special training to journalists who own Blogs in Tanzania ahead of the 2025 General Elections, an important step that will build their capacity and prepare them to carry the heavy burden of distributing accurate information.
The statement was made by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports and the Chief Government Spokesperson, Mr. Gerson Msigwa at a Stakeholders’ Meeting to Discuss the Contribution of the Information Sector in Making the 2025 General Elections a Success.
During the discussion, the Chairman of the Tanzania Bloggers Association (TBN), Mr. Beda Msimbe asked the government to see the importance of training journalists who own Blogs, most of whom are not writers but who create content professionally by writing about political issues ahead of the 2025 General Elections.
Speaking at the meeting held at Mlimani City in Dar es Salaam, July 9, 2025, Mr. Msimbe emphasized the importance of building the capacity of Bloggers.
“They carry a great responsibility due to their large numbers and they create content and others are not journalists”, he said, adding that in today’s world of technology and artificial intelligence (AI), the most reliable sources of information are not social media, but texts found on blogs and websites, thus making the need for training even greater.
Mr. Msimbe commended the decision to organize this important stakeholder meeting, saying it is a worthy step towards fair and transparent elections.
Despite the challenge of many topics (nine) to be discussed in one day, he commended the meeting and the way it went.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information, Mr. Msigwa, instructed the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) to organize the training as soon as possible.
The government statement has been interpreted by various stakeholders as a step towards officially recognizing the contribution of bloggers in the information industry and in the democratic process.
The Tanzania Bloggers Association (TBN) has over 200 members spread across the country and abroad, so this training will have a significant impact in ensuring the dissemination of accurate and professional news, which adheres to journalistic ethics during the election period and beyond.
The meeting was opened by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy, Dr. Doto Biteko who called on the media and security agencies to ensure peace and tolerance towards the 2025 General Elections.
