Free SA has expressed serious concern over the content of and the approach taken by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture in its proposed amendments to the Use of Official Languages Act, which entrench top-down, centralised control over language policy, at the expense of South Africa’s vibrant and diverse linguistic heritage.
While the Bill mandates the use of seven official languages nationally, it fails to empower provinces and municipalities to define and implement their own language policies. According to Free SA, this approach reinforces a one-size-fits-all model that risks marginalising regionally significant languages like isiNdebele, Tshivenda, and indigenous Khoi and San languages, which may have limited national use but strong provincial or local roots.
“This amendment is a missed opportunity to build a more inclusive, bottom-up language policy framework that respects the lived realities of South Africans everywhere,” said Paul Maritz, Director of Free SA. “Language is deeply local. The decision to centralise language planning ignores the fact that different provinces have different linguistic landscapes. It is time to move away from this ‘one size fits all’ solution to a highly diverse country.”
Free SA has opened an online campaign asking South Africans to sign its petition and join in the voice calling on Parliament to revise the Amendment Bill to include explicit provisions that allow provincial and municipal governments to adopt and promote local languages for official use in governance. Drawing from international examples such as Switzerland and Italy, the organisation argues that decentralisation is not only feasible but essential to the protection and development of minority languages.
Key demands from Free SA include:
- Decentralised Language Policy: Let local and provincial governments develop language plans that reflect their communities’ needs and identities.
- Legal Protection for Smaller Languages: Ensure that regionally spoken languages are safeguarded through enforceable legal mechanisms.
- Local Empowerment Through Knowledge Institutions: Collaborate with local universities and civil society to empower indigenous voices through education, translation, and cultural programming.
- Genuine Collaboration: Make national language policy a partnership, not a command, from Pretoria.
“Top-down governance does not work in a country as linguistically and culturally diverse as South Africa. Democracy demands inclusion, and inclusion demands that every voice, no matter how small, is heard in the language it speaks best,” Maritz added.
Free SA urges all citizens to read the draft Bill and submit their public comment before the 11 March 2026 deadline. Participation can be done directly on Free SA’s website, under this link: https://www.freesa.org.za/decentralise-language-rights-power-to-the-provinces/
“This is not only a language issue; it’s also a democracy issue. If the government believes in genuine participation, then it must give power back to the people, starting with the languages they speak,” concluded Maritz.
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Lebogang Serapelwane
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About Free SA:
The Foundation for Rights of Expression and Equality (Free SA) is committed to empowering South Africans to have their voices heard. We champion transparent governance, democratic participation, and policies that reflect the realities of South African life, from Parliament to the provinces. Learn more at https://www.freesa.org.za