1 	Section by section explanation of the Bill
SECTION	EXPLANATION OF SECTION	
Preamble	•	The Preamble introduces the Bill and provides the general reasons and context within which the Bill has been drafted.  
•	It is confirmed inter alia that the Republic’s official languages must be promoted and pursued in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
•	It is reiterated that section 6(4) of the Constitution provides that national government must regulate and monitor its use of official languages by legislative and other measures.	
Section 1	Definitions
Terms used repeatedly in the Bill are defined	
Section 2	Objects of Act
The objects are as provided in the Bill:-
(a) to regulate and monitor the use of official languages for government purposes by national government;
(b) to promote parity of esteem and equitable treatment of the official languages of the Republic;
(c) to facilitate equitable access to services and information of national government; and
(d) to promote good language management by national government for efficient public service administration and to meet the needs of the public.	
Section 3	Application of the Act
The Bill applies to national departments, national public entities and national public enterprises and will take precedence over any inconsistent provision of any other law on the use of official languages by national government.	
Section 4

Section 4	Language Policy
Section 4(1) obliges national departments, national public entities and national public enterprises to, within 18 months, adopt a language policy on its use of official languages for government purposes.  

Section 4(2) details the matters that must be addressed in the language policy which includes:
•	identifying at least 3 official languages for use, provided that at least 2 official languages identified must be indigenous languages of historically diminished use and status
•	stipulating how official language will be used in government communications, notices, publications etc
•	describing how the public will access the language policy
•	providing a complaints mechanism to deal with complaints on the use of official languages
•	describing how national government will communicate with members of the public whose language of choice is not one of the identified official languages or is South African sign language.

Section 4(3) obliges national departments, national public entities and national public enterprises to ensure that the language policy is available to the public on request and a summary is displayed at all offices.	
Section 5	Establishment of national language unit
The Minister is obliged to establish a national language unit within the Department and to ensure that the unit is provided with human resources, administrative and other resources necessary for its effective functioning.	
Section 6	Functions of national language unit
This section details the functions of the national language unit which are:
•	to advise the Minister on policy and strategy:
-	to regulate and monitor the use of official languages by national government for government purposes;
-	to promote parity of esteem and equitable treatment of the official languages of the Republic and facilitate equitable access to the services and information of national government;
-	to promote good language management by the national government; and
-	on the functions of language units.
•	to liaise with and promote the general co-ordination of language units.

•	The national language unit performs the functions of a language unit for the Department (see section 8).	
Section 7	Establishment of language units in national departments, national public entities and national public enterprises
Every national department, national public entity and national public enterprise is obliged to establish a language unit and to ensure that the unit is provided with human resources, administrative and other resources necessary for its effective functioning.	
Section 8	Functions of language units in national departments, national public entities and national enterprises
This section details the functions that each language unit will perform for its national department, public entity or national enterprise, which includes:
•	advising the responsible accounting officer or authority on the development, adoption and implementation of its language policy;
•	monitoring and assessing its use of official languages;
•	monitoring and assessing compliance with its language policy;
•	compiling reports to be submitted to the Minister and the PAN South African Language Board (see section 9)
•	promoting parity of esteem and equitable treatment of the official languages of the Republic and facilitating equitable access to the services and information of national department, national public entity or national public enterprise concerned; and
•	promoting good language management.	
Section 9	Monitoring and reporting on use of official languages
Section 9(1) obliges the Minister to monitor the use of official languages for government purposes by national departments, national public entities and national public enterprises

To enable the Minister to perform this function, section 9(2) obliges every national department, national public entity and national public enterprise to submit reports in the prescribed form to the Minister and the Pan South African Language Board annually on-
•	the activities of its language unit;
•	the implementation of its language policy;
•	any complaints received regarding its use of official languages and how these complaints were dealt with; and
•	any other matter that the Minister may prescribe

Section 9(4) empowers the Minister to at any time require any national department, national public entity or national public enterprise to submit a report to the Minister on its use of official languages.

Section 9(5) empowers the Minister to instruct a national department, national public entity or national public enterprise to comply with the Act, within determined timeframes.	
Section 10	Annual report to Parliament
The Minister is obliged to table a report on the status of the use of official languages for government purposes by national government in Parliament, on an annual basis.	
Section 11	Intergovernmental forums on use of official languages
In Section 11(a) the Minister is empowered to establish intergovernmental forums to:
•	promote general co-ordination, co-operation and consultation between national departments, national public entities and national enterprises on the use of official languages for government purposes; 
•	co-ordinate, align and monitor the implementation of language policies; and
•	perform any other functions that the Minister may prescribe by regulation.
Section 11(b) empowers the Minister to determine the composition, terms of reference of such forums, convene its meeting and determine any other necessary matter.	
Section 12	Exemption from application of section 7
Section 12(1) provides that a national public entity or national public enterprise listed in schedule 3 Parts A or B of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 may apply to the Minister to be exempt from establishing a language unit.

Section 12(2) empowers the Minister, on his own accord, to exempt a national public entity or national public enterprise listed in schedule 3 Part A or B of the PFMA from establishing a language unit.

The application must be in the prescribed form and manner and if exempted, the public entity or enterprise must assign a senior employee to perform the functions of a language unit.	
Section 13	Regulations
The Minister, in consultation with the Pan South African Language Board, is empowered to make regulations on matters requiring regulations in terms of the Act.	
Section 14	Short tile and commencement
This Act is called the South African Language Act, 2011 and comes into operation on a date fixed by the President by proclamation in the Gazette	

2 	Parliamentary procedure
The Bill is currently before Parliament and is dealt with in accordance with parliamentary procedure established by section 75(1) of the Constitution since its provisions deal with national government’s use of official languages for government purposes as stated in section 6(4) of the Constitution.
3 	Recommendation
The Department recommends that the Bill be adopted.