Allow me to register my contribution to one of the hottest debates in Caprivi at the moment.

Having been a regular listener of Silozi Radio Service, I have realized that I have common opinions with many listeners regarding the radio service's use of Silozi as the only officially proclaimed language.

My opinions and those of many are not in favour of Silozi as the only official language on radio.

First of all, Silozi is historically a foreign language and was adopted from Zambia way back.

Secondly, only less than 20 per cent of the Caprivi population are part of the Silozi ethnic population and mostly speak other home languages such as Subia, Sifwe, Yeyi, Mbukushu to mention but a few.

Silozi is one of the smallest ethnic languages in Caprivi, so why do we have to endorse it to the detriment of languages that are rightfully ours. Our children will lose focus regarding their true linguistic identity as long as we continue to promote Silozi over our languages since it appears now in schools that Silozi is our first language, while in fact it's not.

Just like any other region, Caprivi consists of a variety of languages that are far more popular than Silozi, and one can't justify the reason of Silozi being the only official language spoken on radio.

Silozi language is not traditionally Namibian and people lack fluency in speaking it, since it is mainly found in schools and not spoken in communities.

The question we have to ask ourselves is, are we so happy to adopt a language and make it official to the detriment of our beloved languages of origin?

Is it because it is the only written indigenous language in the region? If yes, then is it too late to rectify that.

My suggestion is that every person from Caprivi be tolerated to speak the language of his/her choice on radio (of course including Silozi) since that will improve people's understanding of each other's languages in the region.

I guess everyone would like to express him/herself in the language he/she is more fluent in.

In Caprivi, it's factual that only a few people are really fluent in speaking Silozi and even the NBC Silozi Radio staff themselves speak with great effort.

For how long are we going to continue forcing ourselves to speak the language that is not practically ours?

For how long are we going to continue disregarding our original languages?

When are we going to put interventions that will help people from Caprivi understand each other's languages?

Why are we attempting to reduce the pride of other Caprivian languages?

Do we really want to exclude our children who grew up in other different regions from listening to Silozi Radio Service since the language is too advanced for them, especially the technical words used in news and other formal programmes?

The fact is, in Caprivi, only a small number of people are so fluent in Silozi, and yet we insist on importing and inheriting it.

The deciding question by those in support of Silozi being the official language is, will it be possible for the presenter to facilitate the programme (especially the call-in programme) if he/she does not understand the language?

The answer to that is a definite yes, because it is with the current situation of speaking just Silozi that Caprivian people do not understand each other's languages and besides that, using all Caprivian languages to run programmes is practically possible since other regions have done it already and implementing it in Caprivi will cause the slightest amount of inconvenience.

My opinions are not in any way politically influenced but are about claiming the cultural diversity of all people of Caprivi. After all, a language is the key dimension to one's culture. So let other languages be accommodated as well. Nothing more, nothing less.