Cape Town - While the government faces a sign language interpreters conundrum in courts across the country, it does not have a single full-time sign interpreter in the Western Cape and a justice expert has labelled this a constitutional violation.
Justice and Constitutional Development Department spokesperson Steve Mahlangu confirmed to the Cape Argus that the province does not have a single sign language interpreter employed on a full-time basis, and that the department was forced to rely on “three or four” freelancers who service courts across the entire province.
On Thursday, Public Service Commission commissioner Anele Gxoyiya lamented the general lack of sign language interpreters working in the government but did not give a full account of the issue.
The dearth of sign language interpreters came to the fore in the last week of September, which marks World International Deaf Week, and amid ongoing parliamentary processes to rubber-stamp sign language as a 12th language.
This after President Cyril Ramaphosa in May approved the publication of the 18th Amendment Bill for public comment.
“The department takes a serious view of this challenge, especially with the promulgation of sign language as a 12th official language. The department is currently implementing a plan to remedy this, beginning with an ongoing process within our human resources section to secure the permanent services of a sign language interpreter in Mitchells Plain,” Mahlangu said.
Institute for Justice and Reconciliation senior project leader, Friederike Bubenzer, said: “The state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth.”
He said everyone has the right of access to any information held by the state and any information that is held by another person and that is required for the exercise or protection of any rights.
Bubenzer said national legislation must be enacted to give effect to the rights of deaf people, and may provide for reasonable measures to alleviate the administrative and financial burden on the state.
The Eastern Cape has a lone full-time sign language interpreter working a backlog which includes the 2015 murder case of Efata School for the Deaf and Blind deputy principal Nodumo Mdleleni-Mzimane, which was postponed numerous times due to the lack of sign language interpreters.
By 2021, the case was still being postponed for the same reason and the status of the case was unclear.
But Mahlangu said the Western Cape does not have a backlog because “we always prioritise these cases as our clients fall under the ‘vulnerable groups’.”
There are two freelance sign language interpreters who sometimes work for the metro, one for the Southern Cape and one for the West Coast.
“The department has begun a process towards this end (to employ full-time interpreters),” Mahlangu said.
He said they were working with the Pan South African Language Board on a plan to train more interpreters in the basics of sign language, how to postpone a case in sign language for an accused person who is on trial in the outland areas, such as Beaufort West.
“The bigger plan is to train more of our frontline staff – like our clerks at reception points, maintenance section, domestic violence, etc. – to be able to communicate, at the least, basic and key information to clients in sign language,” Mahlangu said.
He said the department planned to train 25 to 30 people to interpret sign language in courts.