Tanzania: Govt Issues Orders to Expand Kiswahili Use

PRESIDENT Dr Philip Mpango on Thursday issued seven directives seeking to expand the use of Kiswahili as he launched a ten-year strategic plan to promote the language within and beyond Tanzania’s borders.

The strategic plan is expected to make the country benefit massively from Kiswahili as the document, among others, focuses on commercialising the language.

The 2022-2032 strategic plan will see the establishment of a database of all registered Kiswahili experts as well as training people on how to take advantage of opportunities brought by the language in the global market.

The opportunities include employment, especially in teaching the language outside the country. Gracing the first and historical commemoration of World Kiswahili Language Day under the theme ‘Kiswahili for peace and prosperity in Dar es Salaam, the VP directed all development project reports and contracts be translated into Kiswahili language to enable Tanzanians grasp the content.

He then reiterated the order to all ministries and government institutions that all their official communication documents should be in Kiswahili.

“Meetings, workshops, seminars, and public debates and events should be conducted in Kiswahili,” the VP ordered. Dr Mpango also directed the government responsible authorities to collaborate with National Kiswahili Council (BAKITA), Zanzibar Kiswahili Council (BAKIZA), Kiswahili experts and the office of the Attorney General to translate laws and regulations into Kiswahili language.

“The names of the roads, streets, posters, registration forms, medical prescriptions as well as goods and services should be also written in Kiswahili,” Dr Mpango insisted.

He equally instructed that Swahili media should ensure that they use the language properly by observing language structure and grammar.

He further urged all Tanzanian embassies abroad to set up Kiswahili teaching centres by deploying experts registered on the BAKITA and BAKIZA database. The VP on the other hand instructed Kiswahili councils to be creative by coming up with more vocabularies in line with growth in science and technology globally.

He ordered the responsible ministry and its institutions to ensure that the system of teaching Kiswahili to foreigners through the internet (Swahili prime) is fully operational.

ยน1On the other hand, the Minister for Culture, Arts and Sports Mr Mohamed Mchengerewa said next week the ministry will organise a special forum which will bring together Kiswahili experts and representatives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to discuss about the construction of Kiswahili University in the country.

The government has already set aside 100 acres for that project. For his part, University of Dar es Salaam’s Kiswahili Studies Director Prof Aldin Mutembei commended the efforts by the government to make the Kiswahili language accepted internationally, and finally,

UNESCO declared July 7 of each year as World Kiswahili Language Day. In November 2021 at its 41st Session in Paris, the General Conference of UNESCO declared July 7th World Kiswahili Language Day.

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