One of the principal aims of the Tanzanian authorities was the elimination of illiteracy by 1975 (cf. Ouldali 1972, p. 3). Although this objective was not realised through the radio study groups in its full extent, the government realised that the predominant goal was now to prevent the new literates from relapsing into ignorance of reading and writing skills again. Thus, printed material satisfying the needs of educated rural population was needed.
The Ministry of Education had already experimented with mimeographed bulletins in the Four Lakes Region (Ihangiro, Busenga, Nansimo, Nyegezi) as early as 1968, but then, the lack of appropriate news as well as the format had proved to be a drawback (cf. UNESCO 1974, p. 11).
Nyerere knew about successful projects in Mali, Togo, and Congo where regional print media were utilised in literacy campaigns. On March 10th 1972, a local Bambara-language monthly, Kibaru (News), had been established near Bamako.
Edited unter the auspices of the Mali Agency of Information and the daily L’ Essor, the paper gained a print run of 10,000 copies. A similiar periodical was Game Su (It is Time) which had been founded on September 8th 1972. The Ewe monthly had a circulation of 3,500 copies and was published by the Togo Ministries of Information and Social Affairs in co-operation with UNESCO. Finally, in late 1972, Sengo had appeared under the patronage of the Conogolese Ministry of
Education with support from the „Mission d’Aide et de Coopèration française” (cf.
Ansah et al. 1981, p. 7; Topuz 1973, p. 6; UNESCO 1974, pp. 1 and 6).
At the First Mass Media Seminar, which was held in Arusha in November 1973 under the chairmanship of President Nyerere, Tanzanian politicians and media experts resolved the establishment of a regional newspaper (cf. Nordenstreng, Ng’wanakilala 1987, pp. 4 - 5). Subsequently, the government asked UNESCO for assistance. After the UN-related organisation had obtained a grant of US-$
375,000 from the Norwegian Agency for International Development (NORAD), the Rural Press Project was started as an integral part of a widespread UNESCO/UNDP campaign on functional literacy in 1974. The aims of the Rural Press Project were (cf. Ouldali 1972, p. 5):
• to assure lifelong education for the rural population;
• to provide reading material for new literates and to prevent them from lapsing back into illiteracy;
• to supply readers with practical information in order to improve cultural techniques and health as well as economic, social, and cultural living conditions;
• to ensure the participation of the readers in the process of economic and social development;
• to provide an instrument for the dialogue between the administration and the rural population;
• to inculcate the habit of newspaper reading among the masses;
• to initiate the establishment of a decentralised local press and to encourage the rural population to express itself in that press;
• to contribute to the development of national language, culture, and tradition;
• to keep the rural population regularly informed about local, regional, and national events;
• to serve as a basis for practical training in the various problems related to the rural press at both national and regional level;
• to offer a field for investigation and research concerning the impact of rural press activities and the economical, social, and cultural development.
The Ministry of Education became the authority in charge of the project, and a chief editor responsible to the Assistant Director of Adult Education was appointed. Subsequently, in January 1974, the Swahili monthly Elimu Haina Mwisho (Education Has No End) appeared in Mwanza for circulation throughout
the Four Lake Region (cf. Ibaraza 1985, p. 5). Owing to its own printing press, Elimu Haina Mwisho soon gained a print run of 100,000 copies, and, thus, the publication became the largest rural print medium in Africa. On the front-page, the paper carried both international and national news. It was believed, that articles on important national topics would broaden the outlook of locally oriented readers and, consequently, support the national integration process. The remaining three pages mainly consisted of stories of local interest, such as practical information, a calendar of events, and news from the regions of Mwanza, Mara, Shinyanga, and West Lake (cf. UNESCO 1974, p. 12).
At the end of a four years’ probation, the government was fairly impressed by the success of the paper. As a consequence, it was decided to expand the Rural Press Project on a nation-wide scope.
Between the years 1979 and 1985, a national network of rural newspapers was established. Seven Swahili monthlies were published on the mainland, one on Zanzibar. But from the very beginning, the Rural Press Project struggled with different obstacles which maintained their validity until 1996:
1 Long-winded distribution scheme: All papers were delivered by the Rural Press Office to the respective District Education Office by public transport. From there, the publications got to Divisional Education Offices which handed them out to literacy classes, rural libraries, or individual readers. Particularly the lack of adaquate transport facilities caused serious delays in distribution (cf. Ansah et al. 1981, p. 26).
2 Inability of printing works to produce the required number of copies: In some regions, such as Songea, there were no printing presses available at all. As a result, the production of the paper had to be done in Dar es Salaam or other provincial centres - a fact which involves great transport troubles, especially during the rainy season. Often, the readership had to wait for their local newspaper up to four weeks, sometimes even for months (cf. Lederbogen 1992, p. 78). For instance, the Zanzibar monthly Jipatie Maarifa (Aquire Knowledge) was established in early 1982 and initially printed by the National Printing Press in Dar es Salaam in a run of 30,000 copies. After shifting the place of production to Zanzibar later that year, the circulation declined to 5,000, and, moreover, the frequency of publication was reduced to six times p. a..
However, no single issue at all was edited in the period from July to October 1983 (cf. Mbwana, Hamad, Hamad 1984, pp. 8, 19 - 20).
3 Financial shortages: In the past, the Rural Press Project had been supported by international donors, but after the cessation of foreign grants, no money was left for the maintenance of regular operations (cf. Interview with Gervas Moshiro, September 9th 1993).
4 Lack of trained journalists: In 1986, only five rural editors had graduated from the Tanzania School of Journalism; the others had taken part in courses on rural journalism of the Nyegezi Social Training Centre in Mwanza (→ 6.3.5).
Apart from the Zanzibar-based paper Jipatie Maarifa, an average of eleven people paid by the Ministry of Education worked for each monthly. These were mainly self-taught journalists, such as primary school teachers who had previously served as district co-ordinators in the adult education campaigns.
Only a few of them had attended a course on news writing. As a result, editors often took their articles from the national newspapers which made the rural publications replicas of Uhuru, Mzalendo, Daily News, and Sunday News (cf.
Damisi, Ngesi 1986, pp. 29 - 30; Lederbogen 1992, p. 78). In 1985, only 40 % of the papers’ contents were dealing with relevant topics (cf. Ibaraza 1985, p.
21). As Faringer (cf. 1991, p. 98) points out, the main problem of rural journalism is its low status. Although there is an increasing number of African institutions offering journalism courses, none of them has yet launched a course on rural media.
Despite these grievances, the Rural Press Project has been a remarkable effort far away from being a „muffled drum“ as William Hachten (cf. 1971, p. xiii) likes to call African media. Although the eight papers have never reached again the sales figures of 1985 when a total of 400,000 copies were read by approximately four million people (cf. Lederbogen 1992, p. 78), the Rural Press Project often provides the only possibility for the people in the countryside to practice their reading skills. The publications usually cost one fifth of the regular price of other papers.
Moreover, they can be read for free in rural libraries.