PRESS RELEASE

The Government of Zanzibar will provide land to enable the East African Kiswahili Commission to build a permanent headquarters on the island. 

Zanzibar’s Minister of State in the Office of the President in charge of Labour, Economy and Investment, Hon. Mudrik Ramadhan Soroga, further assured the Commission of maximum support from the government of Zanzibar. 

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 The summit considered a report on the status of implementation of its directive to undertake a study on the modalities of including French as a language of the community, in addition to EEnglish and Kiswahili and adopted English, French and Kiswahili as official languages of the community and directed the council to expedite the implementation modalities of the directive.

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The East African Kiswahili Commission (EAKC) has been commended for actively contributing towards the East African Community (EAC) efforts of regional integration and sustainable development. Addressing an EAKC Expert Strategic Plan (2017-2022) Translation Quality Control Workshop held at the EAC Secretariat in Arusha on 12th-14th July, 2017, EAC Deputy Secretary General responsible for Political Federation, Mr. Charles Njoroge, underscored the importance of Kiswahili as a strategic communication tool necessary for deepening regional integration and sustainable development. Mr. Njoroge noted that as a common language of wider communication, Kiswahili is crucial for empowerment and necessary for active participation of citizens in EAC affairs. He further observed that EAC Partner States are doing a lot in the development and use of Kiswahili and urged the Commission to work closely with all stakeholders to complement those efforts. 

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East African Community Secretariat; Arusha, Tanzania; 07 April 2017: The 35th Meeting of the East African Community Council of Ministers took place from 30th March to 4th April 2017 at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. Among other highlights was the key resolution of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) on promoting the use of Kiswahili and adopting it as one of the official languages of the Community. The Council considered amendment of Article 137 of the EAC Treaty to include Kiswahili as one of the Official Languages of the Community and directed Partner States to formulate National Kiswahili Language Policies and enhance the use of Kiswahili in official domains as well as initiate the process of institutionalization of Kiswahili as one of the EAC Official Languages through the establishment of National Kiswahili Councils and National Kiswahili Associations

The Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania, H.E. Samila Suluhu Hassan, has underscored the importance of the Kiswahili language in promoting development and regional integration in East Africa.

Ms. Hassan said Kiswahili has immense potential to unite the people of East Africa and should therefore be embraced by all East Africans as the lingua franca of the region, adding that the language could be an important tool in the pursuit of economic and social development in the region.

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