Hon Speaker and hon members, in addressing the issue of redress regarding the discrimination and alienation of some of our South African languages, which were reduced in status in the past, we are guided by section 6 of the Constitution. In section 6(5), we are mandated to create the Pan South African Language Board, PanSALB, for the promotion, development and use of all official languages, including the Khoi, Nama, San, and South African Sign Language, and to further ensure the promotion and respect of indigenous languages historically diminished in status.
In pursuance thereof, PanSALB is being assisted in its intended purpose to achieve the appropriate balance in the work it was discharged to carry out.
Flowing from the Constitution, as our legal framework, as I have already said, we are obliged to take measures to ensure that national and provincial language policies are in place for all official languages to enjoy parity of esteem and to be treated equally. As a result, the National Language Policy Framework was developed and adopted by Cabinet in 2003.
Apart from the promotion of equitable use of all 11 official languages, this policy also aims to facilitate equitable access to government services, knowledge and information, and also encourages the learning of other official indigenous languages to promote national unity, as well as linguistic and cultural diversity as required by the democratic dispensation. It also ensures working in collaborative partnership with other government structures to promote all languages.
Arising from the Constitution and based on the National Language Policy, the Department of Arts and Culture is finalising the South African Languages Bill, as well as a draft South African Language Practitioners' Bill, which is also in the process for the purpose of promoting language practitioners in all our indigenous languages. Furthermore, in collaboration with other national departments and provincial language units, the department has projects and programmes in progress to advance the development of indigenous languages historically diminished in status.
The department develops literature by way of reprinting African language classics, provides translation services for government departments in official and foreign languages, and produces and co-ordinates terminologies in various technical domains in all official languages. The department has also instituted capacity-building for language facilitation through the human language technologies, producing applications like spell checkers for all our languages. Our department also instituted a bursary programme focusing strategically on scarce skills, such as translation, editing, terminology development, interpreting, human language technologies, language planning, etc.
Universities that have benefited from this scheme since its inception in 2004 include the University of Limpopo, University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of Zululand, University of Pretoria, Stellenbosch University, University of the Free State, Rhodes University, and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Thank you.