Quarterly Performance Report #4: Boresha Habari/Tanzania Media and Civil Society Strengthening Activity

The project aims to support an open, inclusive environment in which Tanzanian media and civil society provide accurate and impartial information that promotes participation, inclusion, and accountability. To achieve this objective, the FHI 360-Internews team is working together with local and international partners, including the Media Council of Tanzania (MCT), Tanzania Bora Initiative (TBI), JamiiForums, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL), and GeoPoll. The project has several objectives, including improving the media enabling environment, strengthening the professionalization of media and journalists, increasing the capacity and sustainability of community radio stations, and strengthening targeted civil society organizations' ability to effectively use the media to communicate and advocate on key issues. During the fourth quarter of the project, Internews and its partners noted that the Tanzanian government continued to impose significant restrictions on media freedom. Key highlights of these restrictions include the issuance of a two-week deadline for all bloggers to register their platforms per the recently published Electronic and Postal Telecommunications (Online Content Regulations) (EPOCA), a Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attack on Internews' subgrantee JamiiMedia, and the arrest of nine people in Dar es Salaam in connection to participating in demonstrations organized via social media. The project also faced challenges related to the enforcement of the EPOCA regulations, which were temporarily blocked by a High Court injunction. However, the injunction was later lifted on technical grounds, and the regulations were enforced. The project's subgrantee JamiiMedia was also cleared of obstruction of investigation charges in a long-running case related to tax evasion. Despite these challenges, the project continued to implement its activities, including providing technical assistance to community radio stations and civil society organizations. The project also conducted monitoring and evaluation activities to assess its progress and identify areas for improvement. The project's geographic focus is Tanzania, and its implementation is ongoing. The project's timeframes are quarterly, with the current report covering the period from April 1 to June 30, 2018. The project's recommendations for the next quarter include continuing to provide technical assistance to community radio stations and civil society organizations, conducting monitoring and evaluation activities, and advocating for the protection of media freedom and the promotion of an open, inclusive environment. The project's implementation is led by Internews, with support from local and international partners. The project's budget is funded by USAID, and its implementation is overseen by the Agreement Officer's Representative (AOR). The project's monitoring and evaluation plan (MELP) is outlined in Section C of the report, and its planned activities for the next quarter are outlined in Section D.