Polokwane Muni to speak in four languages

Participants in meetings of the Polokwane Municipal Council will soon be able to communicate in four official languages after it was resolved in last Thursday’s council meeting that proceedings will be translated to Afrikaans, English, Sepedi and Xitsonga as soon as all logistical arrangements are in place.
This follows a benchmarking exercise by a team from the municipality’s Secretariat and the Office of the Speaker that was conducted at the Limpopo Legislature during November last year. The exercise included discussions regarding the strategic role of the Hansard Section, staffing of the function and norms and standards applicable to the operation of the service.
The logistical arrangements includes IT-related renovations such as procurement of software and licensing, provision of servers, storage and repairs to the existing network infrastructure at an estimated cost of R1 624 238. A further amount of approximately R700 000 will be required for the construction of four soundproof booths to accommodate the interpreters.
In the report tabled in council, the user department indicated that the interpreters will not be required in a permanent capacity and that their services may be procured at about R450 per person per hour.
Last Thursday’s council meeting started at 10:00 and only ended at 19:00 and would have resulted in interpreter’s costs of R18 000 for the sitting, if the system was already in operation.
Democratic Alliance (DA) Councillor Franco Marx objected to the project, saying that the expenses are not justified and that the funds could be utilised for a better purpose.
It was also noted that no provision was made on the current budget and it was resolved that the expenses should be accommodated during the budget adjustment process.
The DA insisted that the matter be referred for public participation but was not supported by the African National Congress (ANC) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), that insisted that the matter be finalised.
Afrikaner cultural leader and former Freedom Front Plus Councillor Johan Willemse said to Polokwane Observer that he was delighted to learn about the council’s resolution. “I fought for the use of Afrikaans, English and Sepedi in the council for years and although it was repeatedly rejected as a result of financial constraints, I always maintained that culture has no price,” Willemse said.

Story & photo: BARRY VILJOEN
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