Question NW3495 to the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture
24 November 2023 - NW3495
Schreiber, Dr LA to ask the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture
(1). Which national government departments have not yet adopted and implemented language policies as contemplated in terms of section 4(1) of the Use of Official Languages Act, Act 12 of 2012. (2). in cases of non-compliance, has he made use of the powers conferred upon him by section 9(5) of the Use of Official Languages Act; if not, why not. (3). what other steps has he taken against departments that have failed to adopt and implement such language policies?
Reply:
1. Based on the 2022-23 Annual Language Reports submitted by the national departments to PanSALB thus far, there are twenty-two (22) national departments that submitted their Annual Language Reports in terms of the Use of Official Languages Act. It is an improvement in submission from the previous reporting periods. Only eight (8) national departments reported in the 2020-2021 reporting period and (7) national departments submitted in the 2021-2022 period.
Out of forty-two (42) national departments contacted in 2022-2023, twenty (20) may be reported not to have complied by 31 October 2023 with the submission of an annual report to PanSALB as required by the Use of Official Languages Act. A comprehensive report on the Use of Official Languages Act Compliance for 2022-2023 will be available by no later than 31 March 2024.
2. Letters were written to all national departments through PanSALB reminding them to send their annual reports and this was also published in the national gazette (See attached gazette for 2022).
3. There has been an active engagement with non-compliant national departments that have not submitted annual reports to PanSALB. PanSALB sought services of the monitoring provider who is directly engaging the departments to understand the reasons behind their non-compliance. The presentation on non-compliance with the Use of Official Languages Act was made to FOSAD to remind the accounting officers about the requirements of the Act. A comprehensive report will be available no later than 31 March 2024.