GBENGA Sesan, Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative, has called for an end to attempts by governments in Africa to impose taxes on the digital communication platforms.

Sesan who is also a digital rights expert noted that such attempts are dangerous to the economic and democratic development in the continent.

He made the  call at the 2018 Tanzania School of Internet Governance where he was a faculty member.

Tanzanian government had recently imposed a license fee of $900 on bloggers in the country, while Uganda also imposed 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,” he said.

He noted that freedom of expression online is under threat for many reasons, citing Uganda’s social media tax , Cameroon’s shutdowns and Nigeria’s clampdown incidents, among others.

Sesan said 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” he said.

Sesan was a member of Nigeria’s Presidential committees on Harmonization of Information Technology, Telecommunications and Broadcasting Sectors (2006) and Roadmap for the Achievement of Accelerated Universal Broadband Infrastructure and Services Provision (2013), and a vocal advocate for digital rights and inclusion in Africa.

He took participants on “Advocacy Communications,” delving into the process of effective advocacy.