Use of Official Languages Act, 2012 (Act No. 12 of 2012)RegulationsUse of Official Languages Regulations, 2013Part 2: Content and Form of a Language Policy2. Content and form of a language policy |
| (1) | A language policy contemplated in section 4 of the Act must state: |
| (a) | the purpose of policy; |
| (b) | the nature of the national department, national public entity or national public enterprise describing, amongst other things: |
| (i) | the nature of services provided by the national department, national public entity or national public enterprise; |
| (ii) | regions or geographic locations where services are provided; |
| (c) | the official languages that the national department, national public entity or national public enterprise will use for government purposes; |
| (d) | how the national department, national public entity or national public enterprise will use the official languages selected, amongst other things: |
| (i) | to effectively communicate with members of the public; |
| (ii) | when compiling official forms; |
| (iii) | in public notices and announcements, public information signs, signage identifying facilities and services; |
| (iv) | in government reports, documents, records, transcripts and other official publications intended for public distribution; and |
| (v) | at hearings and other official proceedings. |
| (e) | how the national department, national public entity or national public enterprise will communicate with members of the public whose language of choice is not one of selected official languages, amongst other things: |
| (i) | providing a procedure to enable members of the public to receive services in a language other than the official languages of the national department, national public entity or national public enterprise, which may include translation and/or interpretation services; |
| (ii) | stipulating the time periods that will apply to such procedures; |
| (f) | how the national department, national public entity or national public enterprise will communicate with members of the public whose language of choice is South African sign language by, amongst other things: |
| (i) | providing a procedure to enable members of the public to receive services in South African sign language; and |
| (ii) | stipulating the time periods that will apply to such procedures. |
| (g) | how members of the public can access the language policy by describing: |
| (i) | which official languages the policy will be published in, provided that the language policy must be published in at least the selected official languages; |
| (ii) | where the policy will be available in hardcopy and electronically and the procedure to enable members of the public to access the policy; and |
| (iii) | whether the policy will be available in Braille and, if so, the procedure to enable members of the public to access the policy in Braille. |
| (h) | a complaints mechanism regarding the use of official languages by a national department, national public entity or national public enterprise, in the form contemplated in regulation 2(2) below. |
| (2) | Complaints mechanism |
| (a) | Any person who is dissatisfied with a decision of a national department, national public entity or national public enterprise regarding its use of official languages may lodge a complaint addressed to: |
| (i) | the director-general of the national department concerned; or |
| (ii) | the head of the national public entity or national public enterprise concerned. |
| (b) | A complaint must be delivered: |
| (i) | to the street address of the head office of the national department, national public entity or national public enterprise; or |
| (ii) | by registered post remitted to the director-general of the national department concerned or the head of the national public entity or national public enterprise at the postal address of the head office of the national department, national public entity or national public enterprise; or |
| (iii) | by fax or e-mail to the director-general of the national department concerned or the head of the national public entity or national public enterprise, at his/her fax or e-mail address. |
| (c) | The complaint must: |
| (i) | be in writing; |
| (ii) | be lodged within 3 months of the complaint arising; |
| (iii) | state the name, address, and contact information of the person lodging the complaint; and |
| (iv) | provide a full and detailed description of the complaint. |
| (d) | The director-general of the national department concerned or the head of the national public entity or national public enterprise may request a complainant to: |
| (i) | supply additional information necessary to consider the complaint; and |
| (ii) | attend a meeting for the purposes of making oral enquiry into the complaint. |
| (e) | The director-general of the national department concerned or the head of the national public entity or national public enterprise must: |
| (i) | consider the complaint and make a decision, no later than 3 months after the complaint was lodged; and |
| (ii) | inform the complainant in writing of the decision. |
| (3) | A complainant not satisfied with a decision contemplated in paragraph 2(e)(ii) may lodge an appeal with: |
| (a) | the Minister of the of the national department concerned; or |
| (b) | the accounting authority of a national public entity or national public enterprise. |
| (c) | The appeal must: |
| (i) | be in writing; |
| (ii) | be lodged within 1 month of a decision contemplated in paragraph 2(e)(ii); |
| (iii) | state the name, address, and contact information of the person lodging the appeal; and |
| (iv) | provide a full and detailed description of the complaint. |
| (d) | The Minister of the national department concerned or the accounting authority of the national public entity or national public enterprise must: |
| (i) | consider the appeal and make a decision, no later than 3 months after the appeal was lodged; and |
| (ii) | inform the appellant in writing of the decision. |