The World Bank has condemned Tanzania’s new law that jails persons who question government’s official statistics.
The law allows for people to face a fine and at least three years in prison for violating the law. The World bank says this could undermine development significantly.
In a statement the bank said “It is critical for Tanzania, like any country, to utilize statistics laws to ensure that official statistics are of high quality and are trusted”.
The bank says officials in Tanzania should “protect openness and transparency in the statistics’ use, to further public dialogue for the benefit of the citizens”.
The law demands that statistical data must be approved by Tanzania’s National Bureau of Statistics before it’s release.
The Tanzanian Parliament recently approved the law. Critics of government consider this as part of a wider government crackdown on dissent.
Opposition politicians have in recent times questioned the government’s economic performance.
Tanzania has sustained relatively high economic growth over the last decade, averaging 6–7% a year.
But while the poverty rate in the country has declined, the absolute number of poor has not because of the high population growth rate.
Source: Africafeeds.com
