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President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law the South African Sign Language Bill during a ceremony at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Wednesday, 19 July 2023. This makes South Africa the fourth country on the continent to recognise sign language as an official language; other countries are Kenya, Zimbabwe and Uganda.
This highly anticipated move follows years of lobbying and will promote the rights of persons who are deaf and hard of hearing.
The Wits Centre for Deaf Studies has congratulated the Deaf community adding that this milestone represents a significant step towards inclusivity, accessibility, and equality for all members of our diverse society.
“We need to continue to fight and work towards implementing the Bill,” says Dr Claudine Storbeck from the Centre.
“We need to make sure that teachers of the Deaf are finally trained; teachers of the Deaf are finally required to learn South African Sign Language before they teach; to ensure real access to services that are fundamental human rights such as the justice system, heath system, social services and many other things” Storbeck.
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