I now
come to leadership.
Minority Chief Whip (Mr Ahmed
Ibrahim): Mr Speaker, thank you very
much for the opportunity. However,
before I proceed, let me show much
commendation to our Hon Colleague
who made the Statement. The Statement
is as beautiful as the one who made it. —
[Laughter] —
Mr Speaker, our Hon Colleague has
raised a serious issue — the teaching of
and promotion of Ghanaian language. I
remember, about 30 years ago, when I
was in the kindergarten, my teacher used
to put me on his laps and be teaching me
the alphabets in Ghanaian language. I
still recollect what I was taught 30 years
ago. However, if we ask Hon colleagues
to recite the alphabets in Ghanaian
language in this Chamber, it would be a
challenge and that is the very foundation
of the promotion of the Ghanaian
languages.
When I got to the University of Ghana,
with regard to those who took courses in
Linguistics and English, more emphasis
was laid on the Ghanaian languages, so
they became multilingual because of the
phonetics that they were taught. So, if
one wants to talk about the promotion of
Ghanaian languages, much emphasis
must be laid on the very foundation. We
are quick to say and recite the alphabets
in English instead of reciting them in our
local languages which we learnt some
years ago. Because I was taught the local
alphabets about 30 years ago, any
Ghanaian language book that is given to
me, I just break the words into syllables
and read. That is the very foundation of
the promotion of the Ghanaian languages.
The Hon Member for South Dayi cited
what happens in the East African
countries which is very true because we
go there on study visits. They do
proceedings in Kiswahili irrespective of
whether one understands that language.
Their Standing Orders and everything
are in Kiswahili. Kenya, Zambia, and
Tanzania Parliaments conduct their
businesses in Kiswahili and one might be
sitting in their Chamber but would not
understand the proceedings.
Mr Speaker, Ghanaians have refused
to adopt the Akan language which
constitutes about 49.1 per cent of the
population in Ghana. East African
countries like Kenya, Tanzania, and
Zambia have adopted one language
which is Kiswahili. However, in Ghana,
those in the Upper West Region speak
Dagaare; in the Upper East Region, they
speak Frafra; in the Northern Region,
they speak Dagbani; in the Savannah
Region, they speak Gonja; in the Bono
Region, they speak Akan; in the Ashanti
Region, they speak Asante Twi. So, even
the Akan is also segregated. Hence, there
is no universal local language adopted by
Ghanaians.
Mr Speaker, in this House, Order 47 of
the Standing Orders is very clear and
with your permission I quote:
“The proceedings of Parliament shall ordinarily be conducted in the
English Language, except that a
Member may exercise the option
to address the House in either
Akan, Nzema, Ga, Ewe, Hausa,
Dagbani, Dagaare or in any other
local language provided facilities
exist in the House for its
interpretation.”
What this means is that if an Hon
Member expresses himself or herself in
any Ghanaian language, the onus does
not lie upon that Hon Member to translate
it, but that is what we do in this Chamber.
The Standing Order says that provided
facilities exist for its interpretation”.
Mr Speaker, when Hon Members go to
International Parliamentary Union (IPU)
and businesses are conducted, there are
interpreters who interpret it in English,
Portuguese, French, Spanish, and about
seven or nine international languages.
They provide those facilities for
interpretation. However, in this House,
the Standing Orders says we must
provide the facilities for interpretation,
but do we have interpreters who can
interpret whatever local language is
spoken? These are the challenges.
Mr Speaker, on an important day like
this, I would have opined that we
conduct parliamentary business today in
Akan but if it is raised there would be
objections.
An Hon Member would say he or she
is a Dagaati and that the Ghanaian
language he or she was taught in school
was Dagaare. So, that person may have a
legitimate concern.
Mr Speaker, before independent
Ghana, we used to have what was called
the “Asante Empire” which extended to La Cote d'Ivoire and Togo. So, the whole Empire was bigger than even the
size of Ghana, as we have it today - what language was being spoken? We have
diverted from that. Now, when we even
speak of Akan, we have Asante Twi,
Akuapem Twi, Fante — it has been divided in such a way that even when it
comes to the point of adopting one, it
would become a challenge.
So, how did the East Africans begin by
getting it right? Who told Kenyans that
they must adopt Kiswahili which made
Tanzanians and Zambians to follow suit?
These are sovereign countries but they
have all come together as the East
African Bloc to adopt one local language,
which is what is taught in their schools.
However, as one sovereign country, we
have adopted about nine Ghanaian
languages — not Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), but
sovereign Ghana. A number of sovereign
countries forming the East African Bloc,
— one Ghanaian language. Was this also introduced by Kwasi Broni? No! This is
a problem that has been self-inflicted and
if we want to solve it, we must begin
from the kindergarten.
Mr Speaker, when we talk about
Ghanaians in the diaspora, we always
look at the United States of America and
Germany but we have Ghanaians in the
‘internal diaspora'. There is somebody from the Eastern Region resident in the
Greater Accra Region but never visits the
Eastern Region. These are just boundary
regions. Somebody is from the Central
Region resident in the Greater Accra
Region but never goes to the Central
Region. So, we meet them and their
parents speak English with them at home
and they have become Ghanaians in
‘internal diaspora'.
Mr Speaker, these are serious
challenges. Somebody told me that his mother said they are from Techiman. So, I asked the person if he has been to Techiman before. This person has been in the Greater Accra Region, attended international school, secondary school and university but never goes to Techiman. After this generation and the next, this person would have become a
Ghanaian from Techiman in the ‘internal diaspora' in Accra.
Mr Speaker, this is a serious issue that
the Hon Member has raised and on the next International Mother Language Day, we must transact business in, at least, one of the Ghanaian languages and this would serve as a test-case for those who are teaching — they would have some pride — especially those who teach Ghanaian languages in the various junior and senior high schools. In my school, Sunyani Secondary School (SUSEC), the tutor who taught Ghanaian languages, in the curfew days, was arrested by the Police. He said, “oh me yɛ tikya nii wo SUSEC”. So, he was asked “What do you teach in SUSEC?” and he said “adiɛ no”. The teacher could not gather courage to say he teaches Akan. He said “adiɛ no”. Adiɛ bɛn?
Mr Speaker, so, if even the tutor could
not mention that he teaches Akan in Sunyani Secondary School but referred to it as adiɛ no — So, because of that, students who studied Akan also referred to it as adie no when it was time for the subject and that became the name. We must take pride in our mother tongue and in our local languages. The opportunities are there and that is the only way we can best promote them.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the
opportunity.
Majority Chief Whip (Mr Frank
Annoh-Dompreh): Mr Speaker, I thank you for the treasured space. I wish to be
brief but it should not be lost on me to congratulate and thank the Hon Member who made the Statement.
Mr Speaker, we have listened and
contributed to a number of Statements on
the floor of this House but this is
significantly important and for some
reason, I think this is the first time I have
witnessed an Hon Member make such a
commemorative Statement to mark the
“International Mother Language Day” — a bit of history though.
I am told that a country like
Bangladesh envisaged and made the
suggestion to the United Nations in
1999. This was recently adopted by a
resolution that it should be one of the
days celebrated on the calendar of the
world.
Mr Speaker, statistics also has it that
about 40 per cent of the world's population do not have access to
education in a language they understand
or their mother tongue. A number of my
Hon Colleagues have spoken and
lamented enough about the difficulty.
Going forward, what should we be seen
to be doing?
Mr Speaker, it is not for nothing that
the Asian Tigers, Hong Kong, Singapore,
South Korea, and Taiwan take pride in
their indigenous languages. The
importance of mother tongue cannot be
overemphasised and I pray that at the
conclusion of this Statement, we would
be in your hands to make some
consequential referrals for us not to let
this matter end today but continue to talk
about it and come to an effective
conclusion in terms of enforcement.
Mr Speaker, I am told that Fante is part
of the curriculum of the Medical School
of the University of Cape Coast, my
alma mater. We hear of English
proficiency, all over the world, when one
is seeking admission in Europe, one
needs to take the English proficiency
Test. We could also do same. Why do we
not have indigenous language
proficiency? Maybe, at the risk of being
controversial, if our mother tongue is
taken seriously, and on the average, each
person speaks one or two, it would help
reduce many of the conflicts we have in
our country.
Mr Speaker, I am an Ashanti. My
mother is an Ashanti while my father is
an Akyem but I was brought up in the
Volta Region. So, I greet my Hon
Colleagues from the Volta Region, my
senior colleague at the university, my
senior Casfordian, Mr Dafeamekpor, and
we speak Ewe. “Ne mido go mianonoewo, midona evegbe”. When I speak Ewe, people are amazed. That is
how come I am able to relate so well with
my constituents and they often ask
whether I am an Akan or Ewe. That is the
power of language.
Right from creation, God showed us
the way and that is why He — my senior Colleague would help us. I do not know
whether it was Babylon — [An Hon
Member: The Tower of Babel] — The Tower of Babel. And God in His wisdom
said people would not speak one
language. It is not for nothing. God in
His wisdom, at that time, was teaching us
some wisdom, that we should appreciate
the importance of diversity of language
in creation. It is sad. I am very saddened
that this thing, as fundamental as it is,
appears to have been lost on us and we
have wondered for so long.
Mr Speaker, I implore you, even as I
end my contribution — we punish our children for not being able to speak good
English language. Many of us here are
guilty. At the court of law, if one is not
able to make their presentation in good
English language, their case may not
even be heard. It is sad, so we have to
renew and change our minds and
thinking.
If one is a Member of Parliament and
their English language is not good, and
they are not fortunate to have attended
one of the “Achimotas” and the likes, they risk losing their seats. Maybe, it is
part of the reasons some people lost their
seats. They say that “He cannot speak in the Chamber because he cannot speak
good English”, meanwhile they have something good to contribute. So, this is
a very important Statement. I profusely
commend my Hon Colleague for such an
important Statement. The context in
which she puts it, and the reference she
made to article 39 of the 1992 Constitution
clearly indicates that as a country, we
must make a conscious effort to develop
our indigenous languages.
Mr Speaker, I do not want to be
repetitive, so I would just conclude. I
would like to implore you that this
should not just be one of the Statements
that we just contribute to and leave it to
gather dust. I would implore you to make
some consequential referral and continue
in the search, and implore duty bearers
that ultimately, we should be able to
enforce this and change the status quo
and the narrative.
I thank you, Mr Speaker, for the
treasured space.
