SADC countries agree to adopt Kiswahili as a formal language

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SADC countries agree to adopt Kiswahili as a formal language

8:39 CAT | 21 Aug 2019

Picture: CGTN Africa

Representatives attend the 39th Ordinary Summit of Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State and Government in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Aug. 17, 2019. The summit is held in Dar es Salaam under the theme “A Conducive Environment for Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development, Increased Intra-Trade, and Job Creation.”

16 southern African countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have agreed to adopt Kiswahili as a formal language in the region.

Speaking at the opening of the SADC 39th Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government at Julius Nyerere International Centre in Dar es Salaam, Tanzanian President John Magufuli said there is a need for African countries to prioritise this agenda.

‘‘I am appealing to your excellencies to fast track the adoption of Kiswahili to be among the four official languages in SADC…’‘President John Magufuli is quoted to saying during the opening of the SADC 39th Summit of the Heads of State and Government.

Swahili will be the first indigenous language to be used by the bloc as an official language at inter-state level. If implemented, Swahili will become an official languages taking over English and Portuguese.

Kiswahili would be adopted at the level of Council and Summit, first as a language for oral communication, before eventually being adopted for written official communication within SADC according to the Chairperson of the SADC Council, who is also Tanzania’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Prof. Palamagamba Kabudi; reports Southern African Research and Documentation Centre

Kiswahili is an official language of the African Union and the lingua franca in most of east Africa and parts of central and southern Africa.

Source: CGTN Africa