Cabinet approves establishment of National Kiswahili Council to save language

The Cabinet has approved the establishment of the National Kiswahili Council to inform government policy on developing, protecting and supporting the language.

The proposal was approved when President Uhuru Kenyatta chaired the third cabinet meeting at State House on Tuesday.

“The establishment of the National Kiswahili Council is in line with Article 137 of the East African Community Treaty which provides that Kiswahili shall be promoted, developed and used as a “Lingua franca” of the Community,” said State House in a statement.

The Council will be a consultative body whose functions will include coordinating the work of national and regional associations, cultural entities, educational and other organisations working in the area of Kiswahili.

The cabinet also approved 12 other proposals during the meeting, among them the revival of the Kenya National Shipping Line (KNSL) as a mechanism for growing the blue economy as well as the Nuclear Regulatory Bill, 2017 aimed at repealing the Radiation Protection Act.

The Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2018 – which places emphasis on human rights approach towards the realization of the rights of persons with disabilities – as well as the resturucturing of the National Youth Service (NYS) were also approved.

Key among proposed new measures for at the NYS include the establishment of an oversight board which will effectively make the organisation a body corporate with a Director General as the CEO.

The following are the other approved bills:

• The National Policy to Support Enhancement of County Governments’ Own-Source Revenue and the County Governments’ (Revenue Raising Process) Bill, 2018 – The proposed policy is geared towards addressing the challenges County Governments are encountering in revenue collection.
• Kenya’s Candidature to the United Nations Security Council for the Term 2021-2022 – Kenya will now vie for a non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council for two years (2021-2022) at the elections to be held during the 74th session of the UN in 2020.
• The Privately Initiated Investment Proposal for Likoni Cable Car which is set to address the human traffic challenges across the Likoni channel.
• Host Country Agreement between the Government of Kenya and Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA) – Cabinet approved the elevation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed earlier between Kenya and TMEA into a Host Country Agreement.
• Hosting the 123rd Session of the International Coffee Organisation’s Council Meeting in April, 2019 which is scheduled to be held from 8th to 12th April, 2019in Nairobi.
• The 24th International Grasslands Congress (IGC) and 11th International Rangelands Congress to be held in Nairobi from 24th to 31st October, 2020
• Hosting of the Global Sustainable Blue Economy Conference in Nairobi 26th – 28th November, 2018 which is scheduled to take place in Nairobi from 26th to 28th November, 2018.

“Hosting all the above Conferences will not only create an avenue for exchange of experiences and ideas but will also help in promoting Kenya as a favourable tourism and conferencing destination,” said State House.