eMalahleni - Indigenous languages in the province received a shot in the arm after the department of Culture, Sport and Recreation officially launched the Mpumalanga Writers Association (MPUWA on Friday, 16 March at the Rafiki Conference Centre in eMalahleni.
The launch was attended by writers from all the regions of the province, representatives of the Pan South African Language Board, teachers, translators and various language experts.
MPUWA is aimed at promoting and preserving indigenous languages in the province and it will ensure that dominant languages in the province remain pure and dynamic. It will also address the shortage of books written in indigenous languages by encouraging people to write in their mother tongue.
The launch of MPUWA underlines the department’s commitment to develop and support cultural and information excellence through the participation of stakeholders.
The Head of Department of Culture, Sport and Recreation, Ms Sindi Mjwara, said the department wants to see writers in the province capturing through writing, the history and heritage of the province which need to be preserved.
She added that through the launch of MPUWA, the department was creating a platform for writers to produce books in indigenous languages that will teach generations to come about the history of the country.
“There is a need to inculcate the culture of reading and MPUWA has a mammoth task ahead to ensure that there are enough books in all languages,” Ms Mjwara said.
She pledged the department’s support towards MPUWA and added that she was looking forward to working with the association to fulfill the mandate of the department.
The Chairperson of MPUWA, Mr Vuleyi Khumalo said the association will continue with their efforts of helping writers in the province succeed to publish books as there was a need to produce interesting and relevant books to readers in the province.
“We are happy with the assistance that we get from the department of culture, sport and recreation and we are looking forward to a long partnership with the department so that we can together produce more writers in the province,” Mr Khumalo said.