20110108
africanews

The Oriental Post, a Chinese newspaper, was launched in Botswana at the Gaborone's Maharaja Restaurant on Friday night. The newspaper, probably the first of its kind in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), is printed in Chinese.

The newspaper's president, Miles Nan, said it has come to their attention, as the Chinese community living in Botswana, that there is a massive communication gap among service providers, product developers and the Chinese community in in the country. He attributed this to the fact that "most Chinese do not understand English and speak very little Setswana".

Coordinator of the Botswana Government Communications and Information System, Dr. Jeff Ramsay, said The Oriental Post marks a major milestone in the development of the media in Botswana. He added the newspaper is the first of its kind to be printed in an international language other than English in Botswana.

The Oriental Post will also cater for the Chinese community in that services such as banking and insurance services, among others, will be written in their language so it will be convenient for them to understand.

The Chinese however play an important role in the lives of Batswana through the services that they are offering both in urban or rural areas.