Donald Lukele
The Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) in the Manyara region has urged journalists to play a role in educating the public against corruption as the local government elections approach in 2024.
This appeal was made during a seminar between PCCB and journalists in the region today, May 18, 2024, with the aim of building the capacity of journalists to report election news professionally without incitement.
Furthermore, PCCB has advised journalists to change their reporting styles, as many news stories appear to glorify corrupt individuals in the country.
Read More:24 Charged Over PCCB’s 8.7bn corruption scandal investigations
“I call upon journalists nationwide to truly change, especially in our reporting on corruption. You can read newspapers or watch the news and encounter discouraging things like ‘Smart ones eating 900 million.’ The term ‘smart ones’ means you are glorifying the corrupt, implying that those who do not engage in corruption are fools (stupid). Therefore, when we write, we should have a preventative perspective,” said a PCCB leader from the Arusha region during the seminar.
The institution also clarified that the issue of paying for electricity through LUKU was suggested by the institution to the government to reduce corruption.
“In the past, a person could give a bribe to avoid electricity disconnection by some TANESCO employees, but now if your electricity is finished, it will be cut off, so there is no room for bribery.”
The institution also urged citizens to not only focus on reports of corrupt individuals being taken to court but also on news involving journalists’ seminars with PCCB, which help broaden their understanding of corruption issues in general.
