How JPM opened door to Tanzanian teachers in South Africa

Dar es Salaam. President John Magufuli’s visit to South Africa was a boon to Tanzanians as it paved the way for Kiswahili teachers to land teaching jobs in the rainbow nation.

President Magufuli, who was in South Africa to attend the swearing-in ceremony of President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday, held talks with the latter, a move that would see Tanzanian teachers secure jobs in South African primary and secondary schools.

A statement released on Sunday evening by the head of the directorate of presidential communications, Mr Gerson Msigwa, said the two heads of state met at the State House in Pretoria.

During the meeting, President Magufuli presented Kiswahili books to his South African counterpart.
“President Ramaphosa said following a decision by South Africa to start teaching Kiswahili, it will start getting qualified teachers from Tanzania who will teach in both primary and secondary schools,” the statement said.

According to Mr Msigwa, a contract to bind the agreements between the two presidents will be signed when Mr Ramaphosa visits Tanzania in the near future.

Mr Msigwa said the South African president pledged to visit Tanzania before the 39th meeting of Southern African Development Community (Sadc) heads of state, which will be held in Tanzania in August. Tanzania is credited across the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) for pioneering liberation movements in several countries.

South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) and Pan African Congress (PAC), the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the Zimbabwean African National Union (Zanu), the Zimbabwean African People’s Union (Zapu) and the South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo) from Namibia all had their bases in Tanzania when the Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, was President.