
Parliament votes for sign language to be SA’s 12th official language.
In what is regarded as a giant step for the rights of hearing impaired & deaf South Africans, the National Assembly has adopted a bill that makes SA sign language an official language.
The Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill, which seeks to provide deaf or hearing-impaired people with equal protection under the law, was presented to Parliament in January.
The majority of MPs in the National Assembly voted in favor of passing the 18th Amendment Bill, which would have added sign language as the 12th official language, on Tuesday.
To pass the bill, two-thirds of MPs had to endorse it. The bill received 306 votes in favor, no one abstained, and no one opposed it.
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Before being signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa, the measure will now be forwarded to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for approval.
The Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) has welcomed the passing of the Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill.
“This is a watershed moment for the Deaf community.
As PanSALB we welcome this great stride in affirming the linguistic rights of Deaf persons and call upon government departments and society at large to ensure that this is not just a piece of legislation that is set aside.’ said Ntombentle Huluhu Head of Marketing at PanSALB,
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