By Charles Mkoka
MOROGORO, Tanzania, Oct. 7 — Tanzania's Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) has stepped up efforts to strengthen the capacity of officers responsible for safeguarding personal information as the use of citizens' data expands across banking, telecommunications, healthcare, employment and other services.
More than 300 participants from public and private institutions are attending a two-day training for Data Protection Officers (DPOs) in Morogoro on Oct. 7-8, part of the eighth phase of the programme.
The training is aimed at improving participants' understanding and ability to implement requirements under Tanzania's Personal Data Protection Act, Chapter 44.
DPOs are responsible within their institutions for ensuring that procedures for collecting and processing personal data comply with the law. Their duties also include overseeing privacy policies, addressing data protection breaches and submitting compliance information to the PDPC.
Personal data covered by the law includes information that can identify an individual, such as names, telephone numbers, email addresses and identification numbers. More sensitive information, including health, banking and biometric data, requires stronger safeguards.
The PDPC says institutions that collect or process personal data are required to register with the Commission and establish secure systems for collecting, storing and using such information.
For citizens, the requirements mean personal information provided when opening accounts, accessing services or completing forms should not be treated as ordinary information without safeguards.
The Commission has been conducting training and public awareness campaigns to improve understanding among institutions and citizens of their rights and responsibilities in the handling of personal data.
According to figures published by the PDPC, 15,146 institutions had been registered with the Commission by August 2026, while 445 complaints relating to personal data protection had been received.
The Morogoro training is part of the Commission's wider effort to build a pool of professionals capable of making privacy and data security part of routine institutional operations, rather than measures introduced only after a breach occurs.
