AN internet rights campaigner and the Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative Nigetia, Mr Gbenga Sesan, has called for an end to alleged imposition of taxes on digital platforms by some governments in Africa.

Sesan made the call in a statement on Tuesday.

He said the imposition was dangerous to the economic and democratic development of the continent.

He said that Tanzanian Government recently imposed a licence fee of $900 on bloggers in the country, while Uganda imposed a daily tax on the use of social media and mobile money.

“The levy imposed on digital content creators in Tanzania is not an isolated violation of digital rights but the manifestation of a trend across the continent.

” From Uganda’s social media tax to Cameroon’s shutdowns and Nigeria’s clampdown incidents, among others, freedom of expression online is under threat for many reasons, inluding the fact that digital platforms have become a major channel for citizens’ expression around governments’ poor service delivery to citizens.

“It is important to see these issues from the pan-African perspective as we engage with the context of our varied experiences” Sesan said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sesan was a faculty member of the Tanzania School of Internet Governance.

The executive director was also a member of Nigeria’s Presidential Committees on Harmonisation of Information Technology, Telecommunications and Broadcasting Sectors (2006).(NAN)

Jul. 17, 2018 @ 09:35 GMT |