The Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) notes with great appreciation the recent call by former President Thabo Mbeki for the National Dialogue to be conducted in all twelve official languages, with the necessary language interpreting resources in place to ensure full and meaningful participation by all South Africans. This call strongly aligns with the vision of South Africa’s Constitution, which recognises the equal status of all official languages and the right of individuals to participate in public life in their own language.
As the institution mandated to promote and ensure the equitable use of South Africa’s official languages, PanSALB views this as a progressive step toward linguistic justice and participatory democracy. Facilitating public discourse in all official languages is not only a matter of access, but one of dignity, representation, and cultural affirmation.
“Language inclusion in national dialogue strengthens the foundations of our democracy. It allows all South Africans to participate as equals and affirms the importance of every language in shaping our national identity,” said PanSALB Chairperson of the Board, Prof Lolie Makhubu-Badenhorst.
PanSALB reaffirms its commitment to support government, civil society, and other stakeholders in operationalising this vision. The Board stands ready to provide technical guidance on the provision of interpreting facilities and interpreter deployment. PanSALB further calls for sustained investment in language infrastructure including interpreter services, equipment, and digital access to give to enable the long-term realisation of inclusive public communication.
We urge all government departments to embrace this moment as an opportunity to entrench multilingualism as standard practice in carrying out South Africa’s democratic processes.
