Hon Chairman, and ladies and gentlemen, unluckily I do not have enough time to react fully to the previous speaker, but I will invite her to my home if she wants to see how black and white children play together - little Kagiso and little Adriaan play there together. [Interjections.] Adriaan is my grandchild. [Applause.] I think Adriaan will be voting FF Plus when he is big, but at the moment that is not a problem.
As far as I can see, this government is still struggling with finding the right recipe for nation-building. If we could learn from other countries, there are broadly speaking two nation-building models that we could follow. The first one is the American melting-pot model: meaning, creating one English nation but, in the process, destroying the languages and cultures of everybody else - in America, specifically, this occurred with that of the first inhabitants, American Indians, and with all the other languages. I studied there and I saw that in action.
The second model is to acknowledge diversity and manage the different language and cultures so that, as the Minister said in his introduction, all groups have a feeling of belonging. If you want to study this second model, it is followed in Belgium, Switzerland and, to an interesting extent, in Ethiopia.
If I read section 6 of our Constitution and the mandate of this department, then surely South Africa chose the second model as its nation-building recipe - acknowledging the differences and then managing them - not the melting-pot model that, at the end of day, forces a recipe of one language on everybody. My problem is that the ANC says what's in the Constitution, but in practice we experience model two slowly being implemented in South Africa, and that language and diversity seem not to be important.
Let me give you two examples. This Parliament established the Pan South African Language Board, PanSALB, in terms of Act 59 of 1995. I was here when it happened. It was created for the promotion of equal use and enjoyment of all the official South African languages. Interesting enough, the slogan of the PanSALB is: "One nation, many languages." I surely agree with that and think that is the model that must apply.
Meneer, ons moes maande wag ... Ek praat nou Afrikaans en ongelukkig word hier net in Engels vertolk. [Sir, we had to wait for months ... I'm speaking Afrikaans now, and unfortunately, interpretation is only taking place into English here.]
This proves my point even further. So, please listen to the English interpretation, if you can.
Ons moes maande wag voordat die nuwe Pansat, Pan-Suid-Afrikaanse Taalraad, aangestel is, wat gelyk het asof dit nie 'n prioriteit was nie. Di raad moet daarna kyk dat alle tale - nie net Afrikaans of Engels nie, maar lle tale - gelyk behandel word. Soos ek die Pansat-wet verstaan, moet die raad die nuwe hoof- uitvoerende beampte (HUB) aanwys. Maar voor die raad nog aangestel is, het 'n advertensie vir die nuwe HUB reeds verskyn. As 'n mens deur die voorvereistes lees, dan beklemtoon dit bestuursvaardighede en ander vaardighede, maar daar is 'n minimum van taal in. Ek soek iemand wat sensitief is vir taal, wat sterk voel oor taal en wat regtig die werk kan doen. Ek wil die Minister dus vra, waar trek ons met die Pansat-raad?
Kom ek gee 'n tweede voorbeeld. As ons glo die tweede model van diversiteit moet alle tale akkommodeer, dan is een van die belangrikste instrumente artikel 6 van die Grondwet, wat s dat alle tale - noem dit watter taal u wil - gelyk hanteer moet word, en dat di wat agter is vorentoe aangehelp moet word. Die artikel s dat ons 'n talewet daar moet stel wat dit gaan implementeer.
Meneer, ons moes 19 jaar wag vir daardie talewet, met hoeveel druk, uiteindelik ook met hofsake. Verlede jaar is di talewet aanvaar. Daarna moes ons weer 'n hofsaak maak om te bepaal wanneer dit in die verskillende departemente geimplementeer sal word. As ek my somme reg maak, is die spertyd 1 November wanneer al die departemente dit moet implementeer. Ek wil vra, gaan ons di doelwit behaal?.
As ek dit reg verstaan, moet hierdie departement riglyne opstel oor hoe die verskillende departemente die Talewet moet implementeer, want daar is sekere rels oor hoe dit gedoen moet word en watter keuses jy het. Ek is bekommerd dat ons nie hierdie doelwit gaan behaal nie. Ek wou nog praat oor die taalwoordeboek wat in al die tale opgestel is, maar ek sal dit volgende keer doen. Dankie. [Tyd verstreke.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[We had to wait for months before the new Pan South African Language Board, PanSALB, was appointed, which didn't seem to be a priority. This board has to see to it that all languages - not just Afrikaans and English, but all languages - are treated equally. The way I understand the PanSALB Act, this board must designate the new chief executive officer, CEO. But, before the board had even been appointed, an advertisement for the new CEO had already appeared. Reading through the prerequisites, it emphasises management skills and other skills, but there is a dearth regarding language. I am looking for someone who is sensitive to languages, feels strongly about languages and really can do the job. I therefore want to ask the Minister, how far are we with the PanSALB board?
Let me give a second example. If we believe that in the second model of diversity all languages should be accommodated, then one of the most important instruments is section 6 of the Constitution, which says that all languages - call it whatever language you want to - must be treated equally, and those lagging behind should be aided to advance. This section says that we must introduce a language Act which will implement that.
Sir, we had to wait for 19 years for that language Act, with how much pressure and eventually also with court actions. Last year this language Act was passed. Subsequently we had to litigate again, to determine when it was to be implemented in the various departments. If I do my sums correctly, the deadline is 1 November, by when all departments must have implemented it. I want to ask, are we going to make that target?
If I understand correctly, this department must lay down guidelines on how the various departments are to implement the language Act, because there are certain rules on how this should be done and what choices one has. I am concerned that we will not meet this target.
I still wanted to discuss the language dictionary that has been compiled in all the languages, but I will do so next time. Thank you. [Time expired.]]