Tanzanians who cannot afford to buy decoders will now have to do without their favorite programmes and are calling on the government to switch back to analogue transmission.
Tanzania is one of the few African countries on track to comfortably beat the international June 2015 deadline to complete the migration from analogue to digital broadcasting.
But Moses Machali, Kasulu Urban MP, speaking in parliament has moved a private motion criticising the government for switching to digital earlier than the globally set deadline, reports the Daily News.
“Thorough research was supposed to be done to ensure many people maintained access to TV broadcasting, which is their constitutional right,” Machali said.
“Why are we rushing into digital system, many months ahead of the global schedule?”
The MP said the government should allow transmission to be in both analogue and digital so as to allow all viewers to watch televisions.
Jenister Mhagama, presiding over the session, ordered the government to issue a response to the matter at a later date.
