Tanzanian Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Palamagamba Kabudi on Tuesday urged the nation's newly appointed envoy to South Africa to speed up the teaching of Kiswahili in the southern African country.

"One of your major tasks in South Africa is to make a follow-up on progress made in the teaching of Kiswahili in schools," Kabudi told Gaudence Milanzi, shortly after he was sworn in by President John Magufuli as the country's new envoy to South Africa.

Kabudi said one of the tasks that were made by President Magufuli when he visited a number of southern African countries last year was to ensure that Kiswahili was taught in schools.

"One of your first assignments in South Africa is to seek an appointment with the South African minister for education and see progress made on this issue," Kabudi told Milanzi, former permanent secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.

In January 2019, former Tanzanian ambassador to South Africa Sylvester Ambokile said South Africa has identified 90 schools across the country for teaching Kiswahili on trial basis.

"I had a meeting with South African Minister for Basic Education and the senior officials who explained to me that they will start teaching Kiswahili in 90 schools across the country on trial basis," Ambokile told Xinhua in an email interview.

Kiswahili is Tanzania's official language spoken by almost all Tanzanians regardless of their over 120 tribes. Kiswahili is also regarded as a unifying language in the country.