The world's leading software company, Microsoft, has released a Kiswahili version of its popular productivity suite, Office 2010. The unveiling of the local language pack for Office took place at the East African Community secretariat in Arusha.

The event was officially graced by the EAC secretary General Dr Richard Sezibera. The Microsoft Office 2010 Kiswahili Local Language Pack is also backward compatible with previous versions of the suite (Office 2007 and Office 2003) and was launched to complement last year's inauguration of the Swahili version of Windows 7 which is Microsoft's latest computer operating system.

Microsoft's Citizenship and Regional Education Manager for East and Southern Africa Dr Mark Matunga said his company was preparing to release 'Windows 8' later this year and the Operating System will be the most advanced and latest computer platform yet and even that will come packaged with Kiswahili version option.

"But for current users, the Swahili pack is free; anybody with genuine Microsoft Office software can download the extra language plug-ins from the internet," said Dr Matunga. On his part, the EAC boss Dr Sezibera urged the Information Technology firm to work with governments in the region to increase investments in projects that will enhance the bloc's economic growth.

Dr Sezibera described the occasion as "yet another milestone in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector" and hailed Microsoft for taking a leading role in facilitating adoption of ICT and the general economic development of the East African Community.

The Secretary General commended Microsoft for recognizing the importance of Kiswahili language in communication and said "both Windows 7 and Office 2010 Swahili plug-ins will go a long way in promoting East Africa's Lingua Franca placing the language as a mode of communication in education, science and technology as well as government services".

The Secretary General disclosed that the ICT sector had driven up to 40 per cent of economic growth in East Africa in the past 10 years and most of that growth had been in large companies. He noted that the next phase could be led by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), as long as the necessary and targeted policy interventions were made.

The Secretary General said there was urgent need for change, not only to maintain existing levels of education and training in the population, but also to develop the new skills and competences required if East Africa is to remain competitive and grasp new opportunities. He added that the region acknowledges ICT as a driver of economic growth although literacy levels were influencing its use.

Adding to that, the Microsoft's Citizenship and Regional Education Manager for East and Southern Africa Dr Matunga said: "We believe technology has an increasingly important role to play in the maintenance of linguistic diversity, not only to promote mutual understanding and dialogue, but also to strengthen local economies. "All too often communities are excluded from IT skills fluency, and the accompanying job opportunities, for lack of technology in their local language.

Providing technology in a native language is critical to helping people access the tools they need to create better economic opportunities," Dr Matunga said. The launch of the Microsoft Office 2010 Kiswahili Local Language Pack comes after the launch of the Windows 7 Kiswahili Local Language Pack in Dar-es- Salaam in May last year by His Excellency President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete.

The availability of Office 2010 in Kiswahili will enable over 50 million speakers in East Africa and Central Africa to participate effectively in economic development through ICT. With over 5 million native speakers and more than 50 million Africans speaking Kiswahili on a daily basis, Kiswahili is undoubtedly the most widely understood language in Africa after Arabic. The availability of Microsoft Office 2010 in Kiswahili is a remarkable step towards elimination of language as a barrier to technology access.