By Basildon Peta
IOL
Cape Town, South Africa
January 26th 2007

 
Zimbabweans will now begin learning Chinese after the first group of 15 Chinese volunteers arrived in Harare this week to start teaching Zimbabweans how to speak the seemingly very complicated language.

The Zimbabwe government announced in 2005 that it intended Zimbabweans would learn to write and speak Chinese fluently to facilitate interaction with China and enhance President Mugabe's "Look East policy".

A Chinese language desk has since been established at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) with help from the Chinese government.

The 15 Chinese will now run the Chinese language desk at the UZ and work at various institutions across the country for at least a year.

Their main task will be to teach the Chinese language, but they would also help Zimbabweans understand what the State-controlled Herald described as "Chinese medical diagnosis and technology of pasture husbandry".

"The Chinese youth volunteers will be attached to various institutions in the country for a year on a youth exchange programme that is meant to cement ties between China and Africa," said Minister of Youth Development and Employment Creation Ambrose Mutinhiri.

Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Yuan Nansheng said Zimbabwe was the first African country to receive the volunteers under an exchange programme for the whole of Africa. He said this showed the importance China bestowed on Zimbabwe.

Four of the volunteers, who are Chinese language tutors, will be attached to the University of Zimbabwe to teach the Chinese language "to ease the language barrier between China and Zimbabwe".

One volunteer, an expert in acupuncture, will be attached to the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare to train Zimbabwean professionals in Chinese medicine.

This article was originally published on page 2 of Pretoria News on January 26, 2007