Language ruling welcomed

2010-03-17 22:44

Johannesburg - The Pan SA Language Board (PanSalb) on Wednesday welcomed a court ruling compelling the government to offer services in all 11 official languages.

"Whilst we appreciate the ruling, as PanSalb we find it regrettable that it took a court case of this nature to sensitise government about the need to honour the Constitution and cater for the linguistic needs of all our communities," said the organisation's acting CEO Chris Swepu in a statement.

"It is ironic that more than a decade after the dawn of South Africa's democracy the majority of citizens are still battling to access information using their mother tongue."

On Tuesday, Judge Ben du Plessis ruled in the North Gauteng High Court that the government had not abided by its constitutional obligation to advance all languages and ensure they received equal treatment.

Du Plessis gave the government two years to enact appropriate legislation.

Swepu said: "We have been calling for the enactment of this legislation, as we feel it will give us more authority to perform our monitoring role."

- SAPA