Strategic Plan for Promoting South African Languages

1. Briefing by Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) on the Strategic plan in promoting South African Languages (Draft 2007-2012) Mrs Ntombenhle Nkosi; Chief Executive Officer Wednesday, 01st August 2007 Parliament, Cape Town

2. LEGISLATIVE MANDATE • The legislative mandate of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) is found in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, the PanSALB Act and the Public Finance Management Act. The powers and functions of the Board are to: • (a) Make recommendations with regard to any proposed or existing legislation, practice and policy dealing directly or indirectly with language matters at any level of government, and with regard to any proposed amendments to or the repeal or replacement of such legislation, practice and policy; • (b) Make recommendations to organs of state at all levels of government where it considers such action advisable for the adoption of measures aimed at the promotion of multilingualism within the framework of the Constitution;

3. LEGISLATIVE MANDATE(cont.) • (c) Actively promote an awareness of multilingualism as a national resource; • (d) Actively promote the development of the previously marginalised languages; • (e) Initiate studies and research aimed at promoting and creating conditions for the development and use of (i) all the official languages of the Republic; (ii) Khoe and San languages and (iii) South African Sign Language; • (f) Promote and ensure respect for all other languages commonly used by communities in South Africa;

4. LEGISLATIVE MANDATE(cont.) • (g) Advise on the co-ordination of language planning in South Africa; • (h) Facilitate co-operation with language planning agencies outside South Africa; • (i) Establish Provincial Language Committees and National Bodies to advise it on any language matter affecting a province or a specific language; and • (j) Establish National Lexicography Units to operate as companies limited by guarantee under section 21 of the Companies Act, 1973 (Act 61 of 1973); and allocate funds to the units for the fulfilment of their functions.

5. VISION • To achieve the equal status and use of all the official languages of South Africa as well as Khoe and San languages and the South African Sign Language. MISSION • To provide for the recognition, the promotion, and the development of all South African official languages, with particular attention being given to those languages that were previously marginalised. VALUES • Respect for all languages in South Africa • Equal treatment of all languages in South Africa • Non-discrimination on the basis of language

6. Overview of Past Performance • In pursuant of the vision and mission and being informed by the PanSALB Act, the Board has established the following structures, namely, • 13 National language Bodies representing each of the 11 official languages, San, Nama and Khoe and Sign Languages; • 11 National Lexicography Units and 9 Provincial Language Committees. These structures are tasked with different responsibilities. For example, the National Language Bodies focus on the development of each official language, as well as Khoe, Nama and San languages, Sign languages in terms of standardizing through verification and authentification, developing and promoting these languages’ literature and addressing language in education matters.

7. Overview of Past Performance (cont.) • Provincial Language Committees on the other hand, are responsible for status planning, linguistic right mediation and protection against linguistic violation. In this regard PanSALB has held a number of hearings on behalf of individuals and groups whose language rights have been violated. Provincial language Committees also advice MEC’s and government departments in terms of language matters. For example, we expect government departments, by now to have implemented the National Language Policy Framework of the National Language Services, but not all departments have set up language units within their sections, this in our view a blatant violation of citizen’s rights. The concomitant result of this neglect to institute these language units has caused unwarranted suffering of the ordinary South African citizens. • PanSALB welcomes the National Cabinet’s announcement of the 24 July 2007 that compels all government departments to set up Language Policy Units. This is the step in the right direction given what has been alluded to above.

8. Past Spending Patterns • The administrative functions of the Board are performed by staff appointed and managed by the Chief Executive Officer who is accountable to the Board. • The budget of PanSALB has shown some growth over the past five years from R19 521 934 over the 2002/2003 financial year to R39 095 000 for the 2006/2007 financial year. The allocation for the 2007/2008 financial year is the amount of R43 600 000 with a further R47 112 000 allocated for 2008/2009. • A breakdown of PanSALB’s budget in the past few years demonstrates an upward trend in salary spending patterns, particularly moving from 21.55% in 2003 to 30.23% in 2006 at the PanSALB Head Office and the Provincial Offices. • As far as direct spending on the core business is concerned, an average 47.62% over the past five years was dedicated to this expense. The biggest chunk, 36.53%, went to the National Lexicography Units which are charged with the development and publication of dictionaries in all the official languages. The balance has been utilised by the National Language Bodies and the Provincial Language Committees to revise, inter alia, the spelling and orthography rules as well as to standardise terminology.

9. Past Spending Patterns (Cont)

10. Past Spending Patterns (Cont)

11. Situation Analysis of PanSALB • PANSALB is not clearly noticeable among the public, organs of state and other constitutional bodies – profile of the organisation needs to be raised • PanSALB is not sufficiently funded - the department of Arts and Culture allocate funds as the perceived need. • As a result PANSALB structures are not adequately funded to fulfill their mandate. • National Language Bodies and Provincial Language Committee members are not fulltime and this hampers their ability to perform and deliver on the ground • There is a need to review the PANSALB Act due to its shortcomings. For instances, it obligates PanSALB, a Constitutional body to table its report to parliament via the office of the Minister of Arts and Culture rather than reporting directly to Parliament. • Internally, there are weak systems and processes - Communication and Marketing - Human Resources system, eg. Staff turnover, limited career mobility is limited, poor reward systems, low staff morale, etc - Information Systems Master Plan

12. Strategic Priorities (In progress) • Perform a critical appreciation of PANSALB’s effectiveness, understanding forces that are supportive and against its organisational performance. Clarify the performance gap and come up with action plans to eliminate such a gap • Develop an operating model enabling consistent management understanding of the performance imperatives of PANSALB, its key drivers and how they impact delivery of the organisation’s mandate • To monitor, evaluate and communicate the impact of PanSALB to its stakeholders and customers

13. Output from the Strategy Session

14. Strategic Priority No. 1Perform a critical appreciation of PANSALB’s effectiveness, understanding forces that are supportive and against its organisational performance. Clarify the performance gap and come up with action plans to eliminate such a gap • Engage Parliament with a view to enable PanSALB’s Act to tighten aspects of its legislation on enforcement, against non-complying organisations. For example to ensure compliance by departments to deliver on the decision of Cabinet to establish establish language units with a view to implementing the National Language Policy Framework, PanSALB must be empowered to enforce compliance. • Embark on vigorous awareness campaigns across all governments spheres and private sector on the mandate of PANSALB • Develop partnerships with relevant institutions e.g Microsoft

15. Strategic Priority No. 2Develop an operating model enabling consistent management understanding of the performance imperatives of PANSALB, its key drivers and how they impact delivery of the organisation’s mandate • To review and strengthen human resources policies, organisational capability and performance to deliver on its mandate. • To acquire information systems, risk management capability • To review and reconcile the PANSALB Act to ensure consistency with the Public Service Act • To review the remuneration structure of the members of PLC’s, NLB’s and NLU’s to match that of the board members in order to attract quality contributors

16. Strategic Priority No.3To monitor, evaluate and communicate the impact of PanSALB to its stakeholders and customers • Reaffirm the organisation’s vision and purpose • Develop 12 to 36 month strategic framework, goals and objectives • Translate such goals into PANSALB’s operations model with clear priorities for people perspective, internal process perspective, customer, financial and stakeholder perspectives • Use the operations framework to develop balanced scorecard measures per perspective • Cascade the PANSALB balanced scorecard to all the units and develop unit scorecards • Translate unit scorecards into individual performance contracts • Use the scorecards as input into Performance Management and review system of the total organisation

17. PANSALB PROPOSED CORPORATE STRUCTURE COO CFO COO Language Units Provincial Managers Corporate Services Procurement, Finance Corporate Services HR, Legal, Commu.

18. PANSALB Stakeholder Performance Prism Parliament Home Affairs Education Dept PANSALB Dept of Arts & Culture Local Govt Communities Health Dept Constitutional bodies Higher Learning Institutions Justice Dpt Foreign Affairs