A huge stride for Kiswahili in Sadc

As the East African Community Kiswahili Commission EACK), what’s your assessment of the progress made in promoting Kiswahili across the continent?

The Commission is excited about the developments in Sadc member states. An encouraging example is the decision by South Africa to start teaching of Kiswahili in primary schools. More so, the language is taught in Namibian and Zimbabwean universities. That is encouraging.

Already, Tanzania and Kenya have signed a partnership agreement to boost the teaching of Kiswahili. So, EAKC is pleased, and we want the relevant agencies here to ensure that qualified teachers are posted out there to teach Kiswahili.

What role do you think the media should play in the development of Kiswahili in Sadc countries?

The important thing is that in Sadc countries, Kiswahili is also used in the media. For example, South Africa’s Channel Africa has Kiswahili episodes. This is also encouraging.

Most advertisers there are also from East African Community (EAC) countries. Already, Channel African journalists have called for cooperation with the East African Kiswahili Journalists Association.

What do you think is the role of Tanzania as a member state of the East African Community in the development of Kiswahili in the Sadc countries?

As a member of the EAC and Sadc, Tanzania is in a unique position to propagate and promote the use of Kiswahili. EAKC believes in the principle of cooperation between Tanzania and Sadc countries to develop the language between these two regional blocs.

Tanzania has a rich history when it comes to the development of Kiswahili and partnering with other Sadc member states in the liberation movement.

Even after the liberation movement, Tanzania has made significant progress to ensure the promotion of Kiswahili in Sadc. We have many Kiswahili experts from Tanzania in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and elsewhere in Africa.

It is my hope that in the future we will see more Kiswahili teachers from Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan also going to teach the language in South Africa and elsewhere in Sadc.

What are your expectations ahead of the Sadc heads of state summit in Dar es Salaam?

We congratulate Tanzania on hosting the 39th Sadc Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government. We hope that this will be a good opportunity to promote Kiswahili at an official regional forum.

How will the EAC benefit from the Kiswahili opportunities in Sadc?

Employment opportunities. More so, we will be pushing the African integration agenda from the EAC and Sadc through Kiswahili.

What is the Commission’s strategy for ensuring Kiswahili is used in broader African Union communications?

We recently agreed on the Dar es Salaam Declaration on the Recognition and Promotion of Kiswahili as a multilingual language in Africa.

So, that declaration / resolution needs to be worked out by our countries. The EAC and Sadc countries are expected to be at the forefront of this. EAKC expects our leaders to commit themselves to implementing the resolution.