Shy rose bhanji biography

Arusha. A member of the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) from Tanzania, Ms Shy-Rose Bhanji, says Kiswahili should be made one of the official languages of the East African Community (EAC).

She said this can be made possible, if the matter was agreed upon by the secretariat as well as the EAC Council of Ministers, which is the policy organ of the Community.

The lawmaker suggested that official documents, including financial reports of the Community should be translated into Kiswahili to enable many people to access them.

“We have no problem with English being one of the official languages, but Kiswahili being a community-wide language in all the five partner states, it should be given some status in the EAC affairs,” she explained.

The legislator made the plea when contributing to a report on Social Affairs Committee of Eala which is currently holding the budget session for 2014/2015 financial year in Arusha.

She said Kiswahili was more popular among the East African people compared to French, which is the official language of two partner states; Burundi and Rwanda.

Although Kiswahili is the official language in three other member countries of the Community, it is mostly spoken and used in official communication in Tanzania and Kenya.

Other MPs who spoke Nancy Abisai and Nyramirimo Oddete criticised the financial management of some institutions under the EAC, saying their senior officials should be taken to task over the shoddy work. Dr Martin Nduyimana  pointed an accusing finger to the EAC Council of Ministers for failure to act on institutions which performed poorly.