Question NW992 to the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture

Reply:

Due processes have been followed in order to officialise the South African Sign Language (SASL). Milestones in this process include the Constitutional Review Committee receiving sixty-seven (67) submissions in 2016. Two of these submissions proposed an amendment to section 6 (1) of the Constitution to include South African Sign Language as an official language. Furthermore, a petition by Deaf SA calling upon the National Assembly to effect a constitutional amendment in order to recognise SASL as the twelfth official language of the Republic was tabled in the Assembly on 10 October 2016. The Constitutional Review Committee considered the submissions and Parliament adopted the recommendation that allowed for an amendment of section 6 (1) of the Constitution.

During the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in February 2020, the President noted that; “following the recognition of SASL as a home language by the Department of Basic Education in 2018 and recommendation by the Committee, that SASL be included as the 12th official language, government is now poised to finalise the matter.”

Soon after the SONA, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development embarked on the Constitutional Amendment process. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there were delays in finalising the matter. The Bill was introduced to Parliament in January 2023 and is currently before the National Assembly.