Tanzania ratifies protocol on Kiswahili

Written by ALVAR MWAKYUSA in Dodoma 

TANZANIA has become the second country among the East African Community (EAC) founding member states for ratifying the Protocol for the establishment of the East African Kiswahili Commission.

At its sitting on Thursday evening, the National Assembly here unanimously ratified the protocol which aims at developing the language as a lingua franca for the regional block.

Kenya became the first country to ratify the protocol in 2010 which was signed by the three founding members of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda in 2008. The protocol aims at establishing the commission as a tool for advising member states of the East African Community (EAC) on matters related to Kiswahili language towards making the language a lingua franca in the region.

The commission also aims at advising EAC members on matters related to Kiswahili research, teaching, learning and development through policy formulation, knowledge generation as well as curriculum review and standardization of terminologies.

Rwanda and Burundi which joined the bloc latter are yet to commit themselves to the protocol while Tanzania and Uganda have been dragging their feet since they signed for establishment of the protocol in 2008.

Winding up contributions on the protocol, Deputy Minister for Information, Youth, Culture and Sports, Mr Amos Makala said his ministry will collaborate with the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training to ensure that Kiswahili is taught in all schools in the country.

He said the government would be working to ensure that meetings and workshops held in the country are conducted in Kiswahili and translation services will be provided for non-Swahili speakers.

Source: Daily News (04/11/2012): http://dailynews.co.tz/index.php/parliament-news/11191-tanzania-ratifies-protocol-on-kiswahili