Florence Masebe On The Absence Of A Sign Language Interpreter During Cyril Ramaphosa’s Address

Florence Masebe On The Absence Of A Sign Language Interpreter During Cyril Ramaphosa’s Address. Nothing beats getting first hand information from the source yourself. That is why everyone avails themselves, the moment it is announced that President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation. For those who are deaf there has always been a sign language interpreter so that they do not lose out o the valuable information shared.

On Monday evening, as the president addressed the nation, there was one thing missing in the picture. There was no sign language interpreter to cater for deaf people. A lot of people noticed this, among them Florence Masebe. The award wining actress and author pointed out that having a sign language interpreter is not a favour, but a basic necessity to a lot of citizens.

“Sign language interpretation is not a favour, it is a basic necessity to many citizens who, unlike those who keep making these “mistake”, do not have the ability to hear the president when he addresses the nation. You cannot afford to keep getting this wrong,” Masebe said.

She also called on Deputy Minister in The Presidency of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Hlengiwe Mkhize to look into this matter. This is clearly a serious issue, more so since it is not the first incident.

“It bothers me so much that they think it’s OK to keep apologizing for not providing a service that is a basic right. DM @ProfMkhize, please look into this. Yesterday was not the first time that a presidential address was made with no sign language interpretation. It’s not right.”