WOW Graphics Impaakt Social Media

"Vodafone prevented 14.96 Mn Tanzanians to make an informed decision on the national election in 2020."

The Impaakt Team

7 min Read Time | April 23rd 2021

The W.O.W. Award

Welcome to the Impact Blog and welcome to this week's winner of the 'WOW' award.
Each week our reviewing team scour the platform for the best work and come together to vote on one winner! It's our way of rewarding our talented community of writers.


If you'd like to know more about becoming a writer for Impaakt, head over to our Certification page or learn more about our rewards scheme here.


Read on the find out more about the winner this week:

“Vodafone prevented 14.96 Mn Tanzanians to make an informed decision on the national election in 2020.”

WOW Graphics Impaakt Social Media png

Written by: Ali Ibrahim

Company: Vodafone
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions



Feedback from the reviewing team:

"A very effective article that clearly articulates how impactful unethical behaviour can be, in this case, Vodafone played a significant role in the democracy of a country."


Read the full impact analysis below and ensure you log-in or sign-up to make your ratings about the impact the topic in this analysis has on the environment and society.

Freedom of expression is identified as one of the basic human rights by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights2. Freedom of expression contributes to developing a fair and just societies2. Only 9% of the global population lives in places with good freedom of speech1. Censoring political opinions prevent society from finding amicable solutions to problems3. Censoring during the election is serious since it prevents voters from accessing information to decide whom to vote for4. Among 180 countries, Tanzania ranked 124 in terms of global press freedom5.

Vodacom is a subsidiary of Vodafone operating across Africa and offers various services such as mobile and fixed voice, data, and messaging6. Vodacom has 120 Mn customers. Vodafone holds 60.5% of the total share of Vodacom6. In 2020, Vodacom assisted the Tanzanian ruling party to impose restrictions on the opposition party in their election campaign through mobile network7. Vodacom filtered terms associated with the opposition party in the messages and blocked messages that contained the name of the opposition leader, Tundu Lissu7. The actions of Vodacom are contrary to the ideals such as “inclusion for all” espoused by the company7.

Members of parliament from the United Kingdom (the home country of Vodafone) and African academics condemned the actions of Vodacom8. Vodacom has 14.96 Mn customers in Tanzania9;p2. It is 25.05% of the total population (59.7 Mn) of Tanzania9;p2. Thus, Vodacom prevented a significant part of the country’s population from making informed decisions on voting since it blocked messages from the opposition party9;p2. The election resulted in the victory of authoritative John Magufuli as the president in 202010.

Although Vodacom cannot be solely responsible for Tanzania's authoritative regime, the company played a significant role by acting unethically. It exerted an impactful negative effect on the democratic setup of Tanzania.


Sources


    Make sure you sign-in or sign-up and make your ratings about the impact described on the planet and society.

    Related
    Articles

    Based on the article you've just read, here are some more we think you'd be interested in.

    City scape big brands impact

    26 Min read

    The Impaakt List: 20 Companies with the most impact on the world

    Examining the impact that 20 of the worlds largest companies have on environment & society

    New Insta Templates for Impaakt 2021 04 02 T102844 415

    9 Min read

    Microsoft is empowering people with its Digital Skills Initiative which has reached 10 Mn learners.

    Weekly Outstanding Impact Analysis 2nd April

    Impact Analysis Facebook Systemic Racism

    9 Min read

    Facebook’s racially biased algorithm contributes to systemic racism in the US.

    Weekly Outstanding Impact Analysis 3rd March

    World Green Background Sustainability small

    Let’s take action together

    With the right investment companies having a positive impact on the planet are able to flourish. Our community forms part of that mission by measuring their impact.

    Join Us