Dodoma: System in place to check cyber crime

IN an effort to deal with the challenges that has been created by ICT, which include cyber crime, the government has come up with Computer Emergency Response System Team (CERT), the National Assembly was told here on Monday.

Presenting the 2013/14 budget estimates for the Ministry of Communication, Science and Technology, the Minister, Prof Makame Mbarawa, said CERT follows best-practice security policies to determine if there is any misuse and initiate appropriate response.

He said CERT operates under the functional arm of the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) and it acts as primary security service providers for government and citizens. At the same time, he said, CERT acts as awareness raisers and educators.

Prof Mbarawa also said to combat cyber crime, the ministry and other stakeholders including East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) was preparing to enact the Cyber Security Law. He said an initial draft Bill has already been prepared and will be presented to stakeholders to seek their views.

To start with, he said, the new law will incorporate Data Protection, Electronic Transaction and Cyber Crime. The minister insisted that secure communications has to be guaranteed through confidentiality and privacy laws, saying when the new law comes into effect it would help address, eliminate or mitigate existing security threats challenges in the country and the region at large.

He told the House that the government was committed to set up a Smart ICT Village in Kigamboni or at the Bagamoyo Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in which a total of 5bn/- was set aside in the 2012/13 fiscal year to compensate residents of the site to be chosen.

“Among others, this smart ICT village will be equipped with all necessary infrastructures including state-of-the-art premises to attract investors and entrepreneurs to conduct their business there,” he said.

He also said that the Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission (TAEC) will continue to control the use of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation sources for the hospital use, among others. It will also continue to promote, secure and ensure peaceful use of nuclear technology and atomic energy.

“The government has continued to receive support from the International Atomic Energy body (IAEA) and in the 2012/13 financial year, IAEA in coordination with the government bought Gamma Camera and Simulators for the Ocean Road Hospital in Dar es Salaam for cancer treatment,” he said.

Prof Mbarawa also said the government through the support from the UK DfID was in its final stages to establish Human Development Innovation Fund to enhance technological innovation and creativity in in different sectors such as health, education and provision of safe clean water.

The minister requested Bunge to endorse 63.1bn/- for the coming fiscal year, in which 35.5bn/- is for development projects while 27.2bn/- will be for recurrent expenditure. Presenting Bunge Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Mr Mtutura Abdallah Mtutura, said the ministry failed to implement several development projects due to limited budgetary allocation.

He also suggested the ministry to stop switching to digital technology due to technical hitches the process has experienced so far. “The government, though TCRA, should form a task force to conduct an evaluation pro and cons of the implementation of the first phase switching from analogue to digital,” he said.

Reading the opposition’s statement, Ms Suzan Lyimo (Special Seats—CHADEMA) complained that decoders were being sold ‘’at very high prices,’’ which, she complained, could hardly be afforded by the majority of Tanzanians.

“The difficulties in accessing the decoders curtail freedom of information,” she said, urging an immediate solution to the shortcomings. Ms Leticia Nyerere (Special Seats-CHADEMA) said cyber crime and misuse of mobile phone services were increasingly becoming rife in the country. She wanted stiff measures to be imposed to solve the problem.

Meanwhile, several MPs have pressed the government to put mobile phone operators in the country under the spotlight, lamenting that Tanzania was losing trillions in terms of unpaid taxes from the companies.

Contributing to the debate on the ministry’s estimates, they said the companies have actually been paying taxes but said more could be still be done to improve collection. They called on the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) to move in and plug loopholes in the regulations to check "tax planning.’’

Mr Mussa Azzan Zungu (Ilala-CCM) did not rule out tax planning or avoidance, saying it was clear that the country is losing billions of shillings through the current tax structure, with value added tax levied for service users.

He said the structure allows some firms to get away with unclaimed VAT for users who are exempted from VAT. He wondered why, for instance, gross revenue collection from Kenya’s giants Safari Com was above that of all mobile phone operators in Tanzania last year, while the number of subscribers of Safari Com is almost the same to those who subscribe Vodacom services in Tanzania.

Mr Azzan further said that in Rwanda, 37 people out of 100 own mobile phones, while in Tanzania the number stood at 40 for each 100 people. He wondered why Rwanda is managing to collect up to 14 million US dollars in terms of tax from mobile phone operators, while Tanzania could only manage a meagre 1.7 million US dollars.

“The government should act quickly to review its income tax laws, which should prevent tax evasion by companies, including those which provide mobile operating services,” said Mr Azzan. Ms Assumpta Mshama (Mkenge-CCM) also questioned the revenue collection from mobile phone operators, saying there was massive evasion in the system.

She said according to the 2010 report, Tanzania lagged behind Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda in revenue collection from mobile phone firms. She said Kenya had collected 79 milliom US dollars, Uganda 31.3 million US dollars while Rwanda recorded 14million US dollars in tax collection.

Ms Mshama pointed out, however, that with over 23 million mobile phone users subscribing to six service providers, the Tanzanian market may well be yielding revenues of over 100 million US dollars, unlike the current figure of 1.7 million US dollars, the lowest in the region.

Ms Haroub Mohammed Shamisi (Chonga-CUF) said a lot of cash meant for the government coffers were in the hands of mobile phones operators. “The transaction of these companies is certainly above the government budget, but we have not realised the best from them.

Time is up for government to take action,” he said. Deputy Speaker Job Ndugai also demanded proper explanation from the minister as to why the government was not collecting enough revenue in terms of taxes from the companies.

Source: http://www.dailynews.co.tz/index.php/parliament-news/18231-system-in-place-to-check-cyber-crime