The Use of Languages Act, 2012 (Act No. 12 of 2012), was adopted to regulate the use of official languages by national government. Section (4)(1) requires all national departments, public entities and public enterprises to adopt official language policies within 18 months of commencement of the Act. The Act was promulgated in the Gazette on 2 May 2013, and the due date for the adoption of national language policies was 2 November 2014. The Minister of Arts and Culture, Mr Nathi Mthethwa has extended the due date to 2 May 2015, on conditions that:
- A status report on progress with regard to the implementation of the Act is received by 30 January 2015.
- All language policies, drafted in such a way that they are appropriate to the context and operations of national departments, national public entities and national public enterprises are gazetted for public comment by 31 March 2015.
- All language policies are adopted by 2 May 2015.
If each of these conditions is not met, the exemption will be revoked on a case by case basis.
Section 4(2)‑(4) of the Act and the Regulations in terms of the Act set out the requirements for, and guidelines on drafting, language policies. Both documents may be accessed at https://www.dac.gov.za/acts.
Enquiries:
Tel: 012 441 3255
E-mail: mbuleloj@dac.gov.za
