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Eighteenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa

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Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Act of 2023
Parliament of South Africa
  • Act to amend the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, so as to recognise South African Sign Language as one of the official languages of the Republic; and to provide for matters incidental thereto.
Passed byNational Assembly
Passed2 May 2023
Assented to19 July 2023
Legislative history
Bill titleConstitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill
Bill citationB1—2023
Introduced byRonald Lamola, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development
Introduced11 January 2023
Amends
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996
Status: In force

The Eighteenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa (formally the Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Act of 2023) made South African Sign Language an official language of South Africa.[1]

The bill for the amendment was introduced in the National Assembly on 11 January 2023 by Ronald Lamola, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development.[2] It was adopted unanimously by the assembly on 2 May,[3] and signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 19 July of the same year.[1]

History

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The 1993 Interim Constitution did not mention South African Sign Language at all.[4]

The South African National Deaf Association made a formal request to the Pan South African Language Board for South African Sign Language to become an official language in 1996.[4]

In February 2020, the President announced the government's intention to recognise South African Sign Language as the twelfth official language.[4] The National Assembly gave its approval on 2 May 2023.[4] The law was given assent on 19 July 2023.[5] On 19 July 2022, the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services published the draft bill for comment.[6] In 2025, the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) criticised the lack of readiness among state institutions to meet the requirements under the amendment.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b Thebus, Shakirah (20 July 2023). "SA Sign Language signed into law as the country's 12th official language". Cape Argus. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill". Parliamentary Monitoring Group. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  3. ^ Dentlinger, Lindsay (2 May 2023). "Parly passes bill to make sign language SA's twelfth official language". EWN. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d du Plessis, Theo (23 May 2023). "Sign language is set to become South Africa's 12th official language after a long fight for recognition". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  5. ^ Manda, Simon (21 July 2023). "SASL now South Africa's 12th official language!". ThisAbility Newspaper. Archived from the original on 12 December 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  6. ^ Staff, P. L. (20 July 2022). "South Africa: Call for Comment on Bill to recognise sign language as 12th official language • Power Law Africa | Public Interest Law. Africa". Power Law Africa | Public Interest Law. Africa. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  7. ^ Sidimba, Loyiso (11 March 2025). "South African Sign Language rollout stalls amid funding crisis". IOL. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
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