FORMER President of Mozambique Joaquim Chissano has urged Tanzanians to maintain proper use of Kiswahili language as part of the continued determination to uphold the legacy of the founding father of the nation, the late Julius Nyerere.
He also commended President Samia Suluhu Hassan for honouring, developing and promoting the language through a creative writing competition.
The Mozambican former Head of State issued the advice during an event to issue Mwalimu Nyerere National Awards for creative writing held on Thursday in Dar es Salaam.
He said Tanzania should continue taking a lead in promoting the use of Kiswahili within and outside the country, as the language has played a crucial role in unifying people.
Mr Chissano also commended the contribution of the late Mwalimu Nyerere in strengthening and spreading the language, which he considers as the value and identity of Africa.
“In all of his speeches, Mwalimu Nyerere used simple Kiswahili that was to be understood by everyone and it helped many people who weren’t well conversant with the language,” he said.
Adding; “Kiswahili is our African language, so we have to protect and promote it by giving it respect and use it in various sectors be it education, politics, administration and so many others.”
He also called on the Kiswahili Commission of East Africa in collaboration with the Kiswahili Councils of the member countries to jointly promote the use of the language in all areas of administration.
“As we know, Kiswahili language has a great history in the liberation of the African continent, it is also used in the African Union (AU) and is spoken in almost all continents,” he noted.
Speaking during the event, Minister for Education Science and Technology Prof Adolf Mkenda said the government will continue taking various measures that will further promote the language at national and international levels.
The minister challenged literature writers to continue using their expertise in promoting the national language that has also been recognised as the official language of communication in regional and international blocs.
“Innovation is key to all forms of development, I urge literature writers to continue being creative in using the language in a way that strengthens national unity, peace and solidarity,” he said.
For his part, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Culture and Sports Prof Kitila Mkumbo urged Tanzanians to develop a culture of reading various works of literature that to help them broaden their knowledge on multiple areas.
During the award, a journalist who once worked with HabariLeo newspaper, which is published by Tanzania Standard (Newspapers) Limited (TSN) Mr Hamisi Kibari, emerged the winner in the novel category. He was awarded a cash price of 10m/-.
