South African Language Practitioners' Council Bill [B14-2013]: briefing by Department of Arts and Culture

Meeting report

In the absence of the Chairperson, Ms L Moss (ANC) was nominated and appointed as Chairperson to preside over the meeting.

The Chairperson welcomed the Committee Members, the Department of Arts and Culture delegation and those present.  She apologised for the delay in starting the meeting and read apologies from the Minister of Arts and Culture, Mr Paul Mashatile, and other Committee Members not attending the meeting.  However, not all the absentees had sent written apologies, as required.  She asked the Committee whether the briefing by the Department should continue, since only four Committee Members were present.

The Committee decided that the meeting should continue, since members of the delegation had travelled far to brief the Committee. 

Briefing by Department of Arts and Culture (DAC)
Mr Sibusiso Xaba, Director-General, DAC, outlined the legislative context for the South African Language Practitioners' Council Bill.  He said that the government had promulgated the Use of Official Languages Act in 2012, which honoured the language rights of citizens through language policy and legislation. The language profession was still not regulated.  Lack of regulated standards and fees, practitioners' vulnerability to exploitation, and the public not being protected in terms of received services, were the shortcomings. When the Use of Official Languages Act was promulgated, the goal had been job creation.  If departments and entities should have language policies, there would be a need for individuals to write and develop documents or translate policies for citizens to access services.  Basic minimum standards should be established for practitioners that related to qualifications, experience and fees.

Mr Xaba outlined the purpose of the Bill and emphasised the importance for control of the accreditation and registration of language practitioners.  This would underline public confidence in the services offered by language practitioners.

The Bill proposed that the South African Language Practitioners' Council (SALPC) be established as a juristic person and that its core functions would be to regulate the training of language practitioners, provide for control over accreditation and registration, and provide for matters incidental thereto -- like advising the Minister on matters that affected the language profession.

Mr Xaba outlined the objects of the Council and emphasised the importance of registration and accreditation, the scrutinizing of particulars of practitioners according to a developed, implemented, revised and amended code of ethics. The Bill provided for both the protection of the practitioners and the consumers, and supported the provision of opportunities for persons, especially those from disadvantaged communities, to enter and participate in the language industry in the Republic.

The provisions of the Bill were outlined as follows:
●  The composition and appointment of the board of the Council by the Minister (Chapter 3)
●  The appointment of the Chief Executive Officer by the Board in consultation with the Minister (Chapter 4)
●  Determination of the Code of Conduct for language practitioners (Chapter 5)
●  Accreditation of language practitioners by the Council (Chapter 6)
●  Funding of the Council – money appropriated by Parliament (Chapter 7)
●  Keeping of registers, removal and restoration to register (Chapter 8)
●  General provisions (Chapter 9)

Mr Xaba named the key stakeholders, which included the Department of Arts and Culture and the Department of Education for both the teaching of languages as well as the accreditation process.  Communities whose languages were threatened and the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) were also consulted.

The Minister had signed the Cabinet memo that introduced the South African Language Practitioners' Council Bill to Cabinet in May 2012.  The Bill had been introduced to the Cabinet Committee and had been approved.  The Bill had been certified by the senior State Law Advisor on 8 April 2013, and gazetted on 14 June 2013. 

Discussion
Mr N van den Berg (DA) asked whether, because of the importance of this Bill, it could not be made available in all the official languages.  He asked whether all the official languages in South Africa had regulatory bodies that looked after the affairs of the language, as in the case of the Afrikaans and English languages.  How would the issues of dialect and register, with regard to certain languages and regions, be considered in deciding right or wrong?  He asked about the organogram of the SALPC and what entity had the final say with regard to the PanSALB.

He said that the language boards would play a much bigger role in the Bill than in the past, and asked whether the role of the boards would be to prescribe to the SALPC, or vice versa, a sort of legal background that listed all the words and spelling rules of a particular language.   When the Minister appointed the members of the language boards, would the Portfolio Committee have any say in listening to people or would this function go to the language boards?

He referred to the listing of the print media, advertising companies and business as key stakeholders.  Could incorrect or wrong translations in the media be reported to the SALPC as being wrong for the language?

He asked about the way this Bill had been presented – would the National Assembly have the final say and would the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) have any input?   NCOP involvement was important because of the provincial and regional interest in this Bill to make sure the interests of the people of all communities were represented.

Ms F Mushwana (ANC) said that the objectives lacked time frames and that the Committee would like to know who all the stakeholders were -- not just the ones the Department deemed key.  She also wanted the Bill be made available in all official languages, and wanted the Department to locate a certain translation dictionary that could be helpful to the Committee Members.

The Chairperson asked that the Department clarify the skills needed for job creation.  The Constitution booklet was the most important booklet for all South Africans and there were only English and Afrikaans editions available to her knowledge.  Who would play the oversight role - making sure that what the Bill prescribed was adhered to, as this Bill was very important?  She talked about time frames and the importance of the Bill, and stressed it should do justice to the people of South Africa, who should be able to read a book written in their mother tongue.

Mr Xaba responded, as a general comment, that the role of the SALPC was to ensure quality-accredited education and that the person providing the education was accredited and registered.  The SALPC would investigate complaints against practitioners and would have the authority to de-register practitioners. The SALPC did not develop language or decide on the correct usage of language.  He said the translation of the Bill into the official languages could be done.

Dr Mbulelo Jokweni, Chief Director:  National Language Service, said that the distinction between what the SALPC could or could not do was important, because the clarification answered most of the questions posed by the Committee.  There were language boards, including a National Language Board, that included sign language.  The issue of dialect and register in specific regions was a linguistic phenomenon, and did not have any bearing on the job of the Council.  A quotation had been done for this Bill three years ago.  It had amounted to R30 million for three years for setting up the SALPC, and the practitioners would be paying registration fees to the SALPC once it was up and running. 

He said that the NCOP was very important, but it was a legal matter whether it would be a Section 75 or Section 76 classification.  With regard to the time frames, the objectives were general – the SALPC would be fulfilling its duties as the organisation became functional.  The Department had highlighted the key stakeholders because the list of stakeholders was very long.  There was a lot of language material available, and there were many translation dictionaries available in many organisations.  Once the language units were established, there would be a need for skilled individuals to do translation or terminology development, although translation skills were currently the most sought after.  With the SALPC, individuals applying for those jobs would need to be accredited first.

Dr Joyce Sukumane, Director: Language Services, said there was enough legislation in place and with PanSALB accountable to the Minister, and with the Languages Act, the issues of oversight and accountability were covered.  The SALPC was a juristic body that took care of only a certain function, and PanSALB had all structures in place to make sure that the rights of linguistic communities were protected, and language development and standardisation with regard to dialect and spelling were adhered to.

Mr Van den Berg thanked the Department.  He asked the Director General whether he agreed if the language board would play a much bigger role.  Would there be a drive from the Department to promote languages, as the studying of, and interest in, languages had not been promoted.

Ms Mushwana thanked the Department for the presentation and asked whether there were lexicographers in the SALPC.

Dr H van Schalkwyk (DA) stated that PanSALB board had held interviews and asked when the Minister would announce the composition of the board.

Mr Xaba said that regarding PanSALB, the Department had been informed of the interviews and the Minister had been sent a recommendation.  He would speak to the secretary and get the documentation urgently.  The language boards would continue to play an important role in both language development and lobbying.  Thre were lexicography units across the country, based mostly at universities, which would continue to operate within PanSALB.

Dr Jokweni said that the lexicographers in the SALPC would be appointed according to the regulations of the Bill which dealt with qualifications and experience.

Dr Sukumane said that advocacy in terms of language and development in the past two decades had been slow.  There was a need for the prolific development of grammar and literature production, but budget availability had been a constraint.

The Chairperson asked about the translation of languages not spoken in South Africa, and referred to letters she sometimes received from Mozambique in Portuguese. 

Dr Jokweni said that the National Language Service did offer the service of translating languages not spoken in South Africa.  The SALPC would ensure that the quality of translation services would be enhanced.

The Chairperson thanked the Director-General and the Department.  She said the Bill was a lot of work to push through, but this was an important document.  She would speak to the absent Committee Members, and they should then update themselves on what had been discussed before the next Portfolio Committee meeting. 

The meeting was adjourned.