“It’s important for President Masisi to have dedicated speechwriters, and he must be told to stick to the script. That would take care of the ‘lies’ issue. His problem is with always trying to excite the audience. He can’t handle a crowd. He sees a crowd, and he wants to be an instant hero. He ends up making regrettable utterances that come back to haunt him. The man, is President. He has made it. He needs to chill, and to conduct himself in keeping with the dignity of his office.” Kgosi Ngakaagae, a prominent local lawyer said through his Facebook post.
Ngakaagae said this in response to the ongoing issue where the public is radiculing President Mokgweetsi Masisi for mentioning that Botswana has introduced Swahili in the Botswana curriculum. While some term him as a lair, some are of the view that local languages should be introduced first before Swahili. According to the critics, it is important to teach pupils in their mother tongue for them to comprehend concepts easily.
In his own words, President Masisi said during the memorial service of the late Tanzania President Dr. John Pombe Magufuli, “President Magufuli was a great teacher, almost like Julius Nyerere, even to us in Botswana he expected us to speak Swahili. And because of reasons advanced earlier by my senior brother President Ramaphosa, we too have introduced Swahili in our curriculum”
“The consternation that would result from announcing the introduction of a foreign African language in the curriculum, whilst local languages are in disuse, and going extinct, was perfectly foreseeable. To me, it’s not even about politics. It’s not even about what “introduced”, means. Such a statement was likely to stoke the fires of civil discontent, among minority language activists, and was best left unsaid. I would personally oppose the move, until we have rolled out a fully fledged local languages policy. For a fact, Swahili is not crucial to our economy.” Ngakaagae observed.
Meanwhile, while answering a question last year in parliament, the Minister of Basic Education- Fedilis Mmilili Molao indicated that Botswana is looking into introducing local languages in schools before introducing Swahili.
