Although I am a lawyer by training, I currently work for the Parliament of South Africa in Cape Town.

When I first joined Parliament I was a Hansard reporter. My main job was to report the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament – that is, the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces.

After a few years I became an assistant editor. My job then was to sub-edit the reports transcribed by Hansard reporters. I was later promoted to the position of Control Editor. My job was to edit and collate Hansard debates.

I currently hold the post of Unit Manager, Hansard Translation. My unit is responsible for translating Hansard speeches, as well as publishing Hansard on the web and in the form of bound volumes. My Unit comprises of 45 staff members. Among these are four control editors, 11 Senior Translators (one for each official language), two translators per official language, one data controller, three data control assistants, two typists and one admin assistant.