agristeph
JF-Expert Member
- Aug 25, 2013
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Waziri husika wa Mawasiliano,Prof.Makame Mbarawa amesema watahakikisha bunge lijalo (nadhani amemaanisha likirudi) DATA PRIVACY BILL itafanikishwa,pesa za kuokota maoni zimeshaandaliwa na Serikali.
The Hague. The government has said although the Data Protection Bill will have to await the public response for additional inputs, it will put in place a time frame so that the process is not further delayed.
The minister for Communication, Science and Technology, Prof Makame Mbarawa, said here on Friday that civil society members and other stakeholders will be given chance to give their inputs without delaying the process.
"We do not expect them to give their responses for up to six months instead of weeks because in the long run Tanzanians need the legislation in order to address the emergence of cybercrime", he told The Citizen on Sunday.
The minister, who led the country's delegation to the just-ended Global Cyber Space Conference, said the Bill could not be tabled before the recent session of the National Assembly after realizing the need for adequate public sensitization.
Two other Bills on cybercime which were tabled and passed were the Electronic Transactions and Cyber crime. Both are now awaiting assent from the President for enforcement.
He acknowledged demands from a wide range of stakeholders, including the civil society, for more time to create awareness on the proposed legislation but called on them to give their inputs in good time.
The minister said the Data Protection Bill was being worked by the government and that it was already with the permanent secretaries before it is forwarded to the Cabinet and finally to the Parliament.
"That could probably be later this year as the coming Bunge session will be devoted to budget only. It is now time to sensitize the public. At the same time, the public must start to give their views now", he pointed out.
Prof. Mbarawa said the government has set aside funds to facilitate collection of views from the people on the proposed legislation and expected that Tanzanians in large numbers would come up to make their views known.
He added that since the Data Protection Bill worked best together with the recently-approved Cyber crime and Electronic Transactions legislations "we will make sure it will be approved and finally enacted soon".
Earlier, when addressing the conference, the minister admitted that Tanzania, like the rest of the world, was potentially under the threat of cyber crimes in its financial, health and security sectors.
"The tremendous use of cyber space has created new security threats to the physical and digital infrastructure, affecting both public and private sectors", he said, adding that it also posed threat to right of privacy and could be a breeding ground for terrorism.
He said besides the three legislations, including Data Protection Bill yet to be tabled in Parliament, the government has established the Tanzania Computer Emergency Team (TzCERT).
The team is headed by a senior official from the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) and, among other things, is mandated to create awareness in the public on the dangers posed by computer-related crimes.
The Tanzania Ambassador to The Netherlands Wilson Masilingi said the European country has pledged to extend technical support to Tanzania as well as enhance cooperation between the two countries on cyber security matters.
Source: Mbarawa: Process on data privacy law won’t take long
