Business persons urged to avoid hate speeches and embrace bilingualism spirit.
Members of the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism under the leadership of Peter Mafany Musonge, recently meet with members of the Cameroon’s Employers Union (GICAM) to enlighten them on the 2019 December law promoting English and French as the official languages in the country.
The Chairman of the Commission Peter Mafany Musonge revealed that “the new law of promoting languages has reserved an important role for the private sector.” The 2019 law enacted by the Head of State, states that English and French are the official languages in Cameroon with equal value “.
The state shall encourage the promotion of official languages in private, entities, employers and labour organizations, civil society organizations and voluntary agencies,” as mentioned by party of the law.
The Commission Chair made the members of GICAM to understand that their mission to Douala is to sensitize them and drill them on the new law and how bilingualism can be a catalyst to economic development as he advised the business tycoons to avoid hate speeches which are detrimental to the state.
The Head of the commission Peter Mafany Musonge one time Prime Minister of the Republic did not fail to express his satisfaction meeting the members of GICAM “ We are very happy with the contact we had. I want to thank the people of GICAM which has a lot of good sense of corporate social responsibility and which is going to promote the use of the two languages. It is one of the first outcomes of the Major National Dialogue.”
The question that comes to the mind of many Cameroonians is, with all the efforts made by the bilingual commission members, how many private institutions will respect the 2019 law of law promoting the English and French as official languages in Cameroon when some government officers do not even respect the law talkless of practicing it. Even if they try to do so, the translation of documents from French to English or English to French can resurrect a dead person from the grave.
By Takang Bisong
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