Durban - The deaf community in KwaZulu-Natal is outraged after the organiser of a provincial disability summit failed to provide a competent interpreter.
The summit in Imbali, Pietermaritzburg, had to be called off on Thursday after deaf people in the audience could not understand the interpreter’s sign language.
The two-day event was organised by the Premier’s Office and Disabled People SA.
Premier Senzo Mchunu was to have delivered a speech at the summit on Thursday, but it had to be cancelled after the audience became unhappy with the interpreter.
The fiasco is reminiscent of events at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in 2013, when fake interpreter Thamsanqa Jantie, stunned the world with wildly incorrect sign language.
Thami Nkosi, provincial manager of Disabled People SA, said they had told the Premier’s Office on Wednesday about the need for a sign language interpreter and were surprised none was found to handle the job.
He said one of their members was drafted in to help out on Thursday.
“It was not formal, he was not appointed to do so, but he was just helping as he normally does.
“He is not a qualified sign language interpreter. Later the people said they could not continue being part of the summit while others were not accommodated,” Nkosi said.
Shamila Surjoo, the director for the KZN Blind and Deaf Society, said they received a call at about 10.30am on the first day of the summit from the organisers requesting an interpreter.
“A summit is not an overnight thing; it is planned well in advance. Why was it not considered how the people with different disabilities would be catered for?” she asked.
Surjoo said having an unqualified sign language interpreter at such a significant event was a gross violation of deaf people’s rights.
Spokesman for the Premier’s Office, Thami Ngwenya,
said the interpreter had to be removed “because the people who were attending wanted an interpreter of their choice”.
“There wasn’t proper organisation at the event and the premier proposed that it be rescheduled, which everyone agreed to,” he said.
Sicelo Dlamini, provincial director of the SA National Deaf Association, was irked that
no interpreter was provided on Wednesday and Thursday “they bring us someone who doesn’t know sign language”.
He said “incompetent” interpreters had been used at events linked to the premier’s office in the past.
“We met with (KZN) director-general, Nhlanhla Ngidi, about this last year and we were promised it would be sorted out. We don’t understand why deaf associations are not consulted when the government is looking for interpreters.”
Communications manager of the National Institute for the Deaf, Andries van Niekerk, said people who appointed interpreters at events did not have knowledge of South African Sign Language and there was no registry where credentials of the person being appointed could be checked.
“The fact is SASL (South African Sign Language) interpreters are scarce and not always available. There are also few structures in the country that manage SASL interpreters,” Van Niekerk said.
Daily News