[lg policy] South Africa: Adding bite to bark

Mon Feb 20 16:00:25 UTC 2017

 Adding bite to bark 2017-02-19 06:10

Mmanaledi Mataboge-Mashetla
- <http://www.news24.com/City-Press>
[image: SPEAK UP: Professor Edith Kirk, Dr Rakwena Monareng and Dr William
Langeveldt. (Picture supplied)]

SPEAK UP: Professor Edith Kirk, Dr Rakwena Monareng and Dr William
Langeveldt. (Picture supplied)
Related Links

   - The keepers of language
   <http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/the-keepers-of-language-20170211>
   - Language matters
   <http://city-press.news24.com/Voices/language-matters-20160827>
   - Schools take Education MEC to court
   <http://city-press.news24.com/News/schools-take-education-mec-to-court-20170111>

Mmanaledi Mataboge-Mashetla

The Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) will have to work much
harder to get the priority attention of many government departments. And
the board is planning to do just that.

PanSALB will take legal action against government departments that either
turned down the board’s invitation to account for their use of African
languages or ignored the communiqué from the Constitutionally created
institution.

Some simply did not show up when they were supposed to.

“We can take them to court... We have discussed with our legal team to
start drafting letters notifying them about the steps we intend taking,”
said PanSALB chief executive officer Dr Rakwena Mpho Monareng.

Several government departments chose other engagements instead of attending
public hearings meant to hold them accountable for language policies and
adhering to the Constitution’s requirement to promote multilingualism in
their work.

The continuing public hearings have been organised by PanSALB as part of
its language activism month events held at the CSIR International
Convention Centre in Pretoria.

*Tough talk on language policy*

PanSALB is mandated to promote multilingualism and language rights, as well
as to investigate rights violations. The institution has often been
labelled a “toothless watchdog” whose powers are nothing but ink on paper.
This is about to come to an end, said the tough-talking Monareng this week.

“The moment we take someone to task, that’s when they will start seeing the
seriousness of this. The thing is, they think this is the old PanSALB that
allowed them to get away with a lot.”

At the beginning of the hearings, 12 out of 30 government departments had
not confirmed their participation, with several out of these making it
clear to PanSALB that they would not show up.

The department of basic education is having “a hectic schedule” that
involves visiting schools in different provinces, sorting out problems
related to the placement of learners in schools and appearing before
Parliament’s portfolio committee, said its spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga.

“I don’t think it’s anything else,” Mhlanga said. “We, of all departments,
have a lot to say about languages. We would be willing to take up the
invitation to share the progress that we have made in terms of implementing
the use of African languages,” he said.

He added that the department was “not refusing” to appear before PanSALB,
but would have liked to “negotiate an alternative date”.

And then there’s National Treasury, which said the timing was just too
wrong as the department is preparing for Minister Pravin Gordhan’s annual
budget speech. The date that PanSALB allocated the department “is the date
we are on printing deadline. If we miss the printing deadline there won’t
be a budget,” said National Treasury spokesperson Yolisa Tyantsi.

“In the last week towards the budget, we don’t do any external engagements.
The only thing that can take the minister out of the office is if the
president wants to see him or if it’s something related to the budget,” she
said.

Tyantsi added that National Treasury does not undermine PanSALB and it is
proving that by deciding to rather not honour this particular invitation
instead of sending any other official who may be unable to account on the
department’s behalf.

“The fact that we value the PanSALB is the reason we are not sending a
junior official. To show that we are serious about this multilingualism
requirement, we have translated rating agencies’ reports into African
languages and we are also translating the People’s Guide to the budget into
these languages. We do recognise that we’ve got a policy to respect,” she
said.

*Department responses speak volumes*

While some government departments sent an apology to PanSALB a few days
before their scheduled appearance, others simply did not bother responding
to the board’s emails and calls.

“Some gave silly reasons for not coming,” said CEO Monareng. For those that
made time, the board expressed appreciation for their efforts, but were
grieved by the fact that “the content is very poor. They sent very junior
people who cannot explain things; they cannot account for the departments.”

In addition to this, several government departments “don’t have their own
language policies. They took the policy that they got from the department
of arts and culture and just changed names. Where it says the arts and
culture they put their own department’s name,” said Monareng.

While spokesperson for the department of planning, monitoring and
evaluation Tshegofatso Modubu claimed that they did not receive a PanSALB
invitation, some, such as the State Security Agency, international
relations and cooperation, and social development, did not respond to City
Press’ enquiry.

At the time of going to print, other departments that had not confirmed
their participation, such as small business development, home affairs and
public service and administration, had assured PanSALB that they would send
representatives.

*A Project with PanSALB: *

*How official are our official languages?*

*Join the City Press newsroom as we live tweet this debate - in the mother
tongues of our journalists - from the Sandton Convention Centre from 07:00
on Tuesday. Join the conversation. Follow @City_Press
<https://twitter.com/City_Press> and #SpeakItLiveIt*

http://www.news24.com/Opinions/Voices/adding-bite-to-bark-20170219-2

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