AfricaPress-Tanzania: TANZANIA’s embassies abroad have been instructed to establish Kiswahili learning centres to promote the language at global level.
The centres will be used for training Kiswahili speakers in specific countries, a move that will create employment opportunities for Tanzanian trainers.
This was revealed by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa in Parliament during the Prime Minister (MP)’s question and answer session, saying Kiswahili language had been growing and gaining popularity internationally.
“Currently, various international broadcasters are airing their television radio programmes in Kiswahili language. A good number of Kiswahili speakers in Germany, the United States and United Kingdom,” he said in the House.
The PM was responding to Kawe MP Bishop Josephat Gwajima (CCM), who queried the government’s strategies to promote Kiswahili, which is one of the 10 most spoken languages in Africa.
Mr Majaliwa assured MPs that the government had been taking various measures and would ensure Kiswahili expanded.
Already, Kiswahili has been added to a list of official languages in three among the African regional blocs such as the African Union (AU), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
He said President John Magufuli had done fantastic efforts to ensure Kiswahili language was adopted as the fourth official language of communication in SADC. Other languages are English, French and Portuguese.
Framing his question, Mr Gwajima said Kiswahili was the second language spoken by many people in Africa, then “what are the government’s strategies to ensure it continues growing and creating more employment opportunities for Tanzanians?”
In another development, the PM said the government was embarking on the construction of markets at various border posts of the country.
This aims at facilitating trade with neighbouring countries and guarantee markets for farmers’ crops.
So far, facilities have been constructed at Kigoma’s Kagunga Border Post, Nyakanazi in Kagera and Horohoro in Tanga Region.
According to him, while Kagunga Market will facilitate trade between Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, Nyakanazi Market will be for Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda.
“The government is consulting officials in Zambia and DRC for the two countries to start purchasing agricultural crops produced in Rukwa Region in the south western part of Tanzania,” he explained.
Mr Majaliwa was responding to Special Seats MP Neema Lugakingira (CCM) who raised concern over lack of markets for agricultural crops.
The lawmaker wanted to know government plans to ensure the availability of markets for farmers’ crops for Tanzanians to benefit from the sector.
The PM insisted that efforts had already been made to ensure all Tanzania’s embassies abroad promoted agricultural crops and looked for markets.
As the country, we have been using our embassies to promote our crops and for sure, this strategy has been successful since many crops are exported abroad.
Other strategies that have been used in marketing agricultural crops include the introduction of a warehouse receipt system applicable for different crops, where farmers get better prices for their crops.
The warehouse receipt system requires farmers to deliver their crops to primary cooperative societies whereas warehouse operators accept the crops and store them in warehouses and issue receipts to farmers.
