Use of Official Languages Act, 2012 (Act No. 12 of 2012)

Notices

Implementation of the Reviewed Language Policy for the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

1. Background
Purchase cart Previous page Return to chapter overview Next page

 

1.1As a means to promote the marginalised indigenous languages, the national government deemed it fit to promulgate the Use of Official Languages Act, 2012 (Act No. 12 of 2012) (the Act). The Act obliges national government departments, public entities and public enterprises to strive for the parity of South African official languages. The Act took effect from 2 May 2013 after it was assented to law by the former President Jacob Zuma. Among other things, the Act emphasises the promotion of multilingualism in South Africa to ensure equal treatment of all official languages. Therefore, national departments were obligated to establish language units and develop language policies.

 

1.2The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) is mandated to give effect to the right of citizens to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being, and to have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations. To this end, the DFFE provides leadership in environmental management, conservation and protection towards sustainability for the benefit of South Africans and the global community. In line with its mandate, the Language Policy of the DFFE seeks to regulate the proper usage of languages, the promotion of marginalised indigenous languages, and the functioning of the Language Service Unit as a functional instrument to monitor implementation, evaluate outputs and outcomes, and ensure compliance through the submission of written reports to the Pan South African Language Board, as required by the Act. Furthermore, the Language Policy is instrumental in aligning the functions of the Language Service Unit to those prescribed in the Act.