SIM-Card Registration Now Viewed As Spying Move

[Invisible]

One of the major factors hindering the ongoing exercise to register cellular phone numbers in Arusha and most parts of the country happens to be politics.

The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority stated in Arusha last week that with less than two months to go before the curtain for registration get closed; the exercise isn't moving as fast as intended.

"We have discovered that many people believe the ongoing SIM card registration was aimed at spying their political interests and loyalties during the forthcoming 2010 general elections," revealed Mr Innocent Mungy the TCRA communications manager in Arusha last weekend.

He said some people have been going round instilling paranoiac fear among citizens that the government was setting an agenda for monitoring them throughout the next year's campaigning and election period and registering their phones was among the methods that the spying machinery would use.

Premature election fever, according to the officials is taking drastic toll to the phone registration exercise which now has less than two months before the deadline.

Observations conducted in town on how the SIM card registration in Arusha revealed the exercise was dragging on slowly. Unlike in Dar-Es-Salaam city where people can always register their numbers in streets at tables set up by agents, Arusha residents are still compelled to trek all the way to providers' offices in order to be registered.

The providers here, Zain, Vodacom, Tigo and Zantel operate in tiny

crumpled offices with few seats and long queues of customers waiting for a number of other services other than SIM cards registration.

That together with the possibility of 'wasting valuable time' has been discouraging most Arusha people to register altogether. "This exercise should be going on even during weekends," said Hamis Mohammed a resident of Esso area.

In rural areas things are even worse, according to TCRA the lack of photocopy machines in remote parts are rendering the exercise to be almost impossible.

"Many people in the villages have identity cards but they have nowhere to photocopy them so the exercise becomes difficult," Mr Victor Nkya the TCRA Director for Zonal Operations stated. In order to register one's cell-phone number a copy of their ID is required by the agents.

 

[Buchanan]

Kwani hawa wananchi wanachohofia ni nini? Ni mambo ya uchaguzi wa mwakani tu au kuna kingine? Hapa inatakiwa elimu ya kutosha!

 

[shabanimzungu]

wasteful exercise this is!

 

[Kigogo]

absolute wasteful exercise..

 

[Chapakazi]

absolute wasteful exercise..

Kwa nini unaona hivyo?

 

[Tiba]

absolute wasteful exercise..

Mkuu Kigogo,

Hili zoezi ni muhimu kwa maoni yangu. In fact, Tanzania tumechelewa sana kulifanyia kazi. Cha ajabu wakati wanatwambia tufanye registration ya namba zetu, bado wanaendelea kuuza kadi mpya bila registration. Kwa ajili ya usalama wa kila mtu (sio nchi peke yake) ili zoezi ni muhimu. Hivi leo mimi nikiamua kukupigia simu na kukutukana au kukutishia maisha utanipataje? Utajua huyo aliyekutukana na kukutishia maisha ni nani?. It only through registration you can be able to trace who actually did it.

Ukienda nchi nyingi zilizoendelea huwezi kuuziwa number ya simu bila kuonyesha vitambulisho vyako au angalau passport yako. Juzi nilikuwa Sudan kwa mwezi mmoja na nilipotaka kununua kadi ya simu walinitaka nitoe ID card inayokubalika ndio wakakubali kuniuzia. Hili zoezi ni muhimu na ukweli unabaki pale pale kwamba ni kwa ajili ya securtiy na hizo sababu nyingine zinazotolewa ni longo longo tu.

Tiba

 

[Fatma]

Very true for security purpose not for politics

 

[Susuviri]

Tiba mkuu, mi naona mfano wa nchi kama Sudan ni mbaya kwa sababu it is a repressive regime na rais wao anatafutwa for war crimes and genocide.
Lakini ni kweli katika hata nchi zingine zamani utaratibu ulikuwa ku-register, ila siku hizi zipo hizi disposal cell phones kote duniani hata Marekani. Na hizi huwa haziwi registered. Simu hizi zinachukiwa sana na vyombo vya dola, hasa vyombo vya kijasusi kama FBI, CIA nk kwani ni ngumu ku-trace na kujua nani aliinunua.
Hii registration ni kweli a repressive move in my opinion na mimi nadhani it is best to start a class action suit against the govenrment kwani hatujaambiwa data zetu zitahifadhiwa wapi, watahakikisha vipi kuwa data zetu hazitaibiwa na kutumika vibaya. But on the other hand, kuna national ID nchini, hivi mi nikija na kitambulisho imeandikwa naitwa John Simon, nyingine naitwa Athumani Juma, kuna kitu gani cha kunihakiki? Maana hivi sasa hawajisumbui na vielelezo vingine wakati wa kusajili ila wanaomba kitambulisho chenye picha. It is a waste of time and energy na watawakosesha tu mapato kampuni za simu. Ngoja muone... they will relent on this...

 

[Bulesi]

It is an invasion of people's privacy period.; a way of spying on your people in the name of security!

 

[omarilyas]

It is an invasion of people's privacy period.; a way of spying on your people in the name of security!

Du...ndio uliberali huo....hivi huko majuu mnajiokotea tu sim card na kuanza kutumia?

Kitu kimoja nakubaliana nawe ni kuwa kuna umuhimu wa kuwa na sheria ya kusimamia taarifa hizi na kuzilinda. Lakini hata hivi tulipokuwa hatuandikishi suala la kuingiliwa so called privacy zetu lilikuwa ni mwendo mdundo tena sio kwa wana USALAM tu bali zaidi wafanyakazi wahuni wa makampuni ya simu....

omarilyas

 

[mayala luswetul]

Faida za kusajili simu ni zipi? Nadiriki kuuliza hivyo kwa sababu ni mwezi huu mwanzoni nimeibiwa simu yangu na vibaka pamoja na kuwa simu sim card yangu ilikuwa imesajiliwa kitambo. Nilichokifanya ni kwenda kwenye moja ya maduka yanayojihusisha na utoaji huduma za simu nahapa nina maanisha VODASHOP nilichoambulia hapo ni kulipia tshs 500/= na kupewa simu card nyingine a.k.a simswap. Je,ina maana kuwa simu yangu siwezi kuipata kupitia usajili niliofanya? wadau naomba ufafanuzi.

 

[Tiba]

Faida za kusajili simu ni zipi? Nadiriki kuuliza hivyo kwa sababu ni mwezi huu mwanzoni nimeibiwa simu yangu na vibaka pamoja na kuwa simu sim card yangu ilikuwa imesajiliwa kitambo. Nilichokifanya ni kwenda kwenye moja ya maduka yanayojihusisha na utoaji huduma za simu nahapa nina maanisha VODASHOP nilichoambulia hapo ni kulipia tshs 500/= na kupewa simu card nyingine a.k.a simswap. Je,ina maana kuwa simu yangu siwezi kuipata kupitia usajili niliofanya? wadau naomba ufafanuzi.

Mkuu Mayala,

Registration ya namba yako ya mobile phone haiwezi kukusaidia lolote kwa suala la kuibiwa simu. Kwani hao walioiba simu yako bado wanaendelea kuitumia Sim card yako? Hapo andika maumivu kwani ulichoandikisha ni namba ya simu wala sio handset!!!

Tiba

 

[Dingswayo]

Du...ndio uliberali huo....hivi huko majuu mnajiokotea tu sim card na kuanza kutumia?

Kitu kimoja nakubaliana nawe ni kuwa kuna umuhimu wa kuwa na sheria ya kusimamia taarifa hizi na kuzilinda. Lakini hata hivi tulipokuwa hatuandikishi suala la kuingiliwa so called privacy zetu lilikuwa ni mwendo mdundo tena sio kwa wana USALAM tu bali zaidi wafanyakazi wahuni wa makampuni ya simu....

omarilyas

Ndio. Huku majuu unaenda dukani unanunua sim card, unaweka kwenye simu yako na unaanza kupiga simu sawia. Kuna providers wengine wanatoa incentive ya kukuongezea muda wa maongezi ikiwa uta register, lakini kuna wengine sio lazima ku register.

 

[Suki]

Wangeanza kwa kutengeneza income na access to social services databases,wangekuwa wamenisaidia sana.

But,I guess they can try get a rough idea on individual incomes from their daily cell costs(power laws?).Map people's movements and general population dynamics may be?Analyze existing networks (Watts-Strogatz ''small-world''?) as means to channel socio-economic transformations?

Juuuust wondering...
I mean,kama kuliwa tushaliwa...least they can do is create some kinda value off of our leftovers.