Promotion of Access to information

PAIA - Promotion of Access to Information Act

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Prepared in terms of section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (as amended)

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The Promotion of Access to Information Act, No. 2 of 2000 (hereinafter referred to as “PAIA”, or “the Act” interchangeably), as amended, requires us to draft and make this PAIA manual available to you.

This access to information manual will help you (the requester of information) to exercise that right and help you know how you may get access to our Company records.

1. Introduction

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We describe who we are and what we do on our website, or you can ask us for this information. PAIA requires the information officer of a private body to compile a manual that contains information on the records it holds.

2. Our Details

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Our organisation’s information is on our website or available on request. To contact the information officer, you can email [email protected].

3. The Information Regulator

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For further guidance, contact the Information Regulator. They have compiled a PAIA guide on how to exercise your rights under PAIA.

1. Visit their website
2. General Enquiry by email
3. Lodge a complaint by email

4. Records which we make automatically available

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We make some records automatically available to you without you needing to request access to them.

5. Records we hold to function

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We hold the following subjects and categories of records in electronic or physical format, which we do not make automatically available. You may request access to them. These are records that most organisations have.

1. Establishment records
2. Business records
3. Financial records
4. Insurance records
5. Tax records
6. Personal records
7. Agreements or contracts
8. Regulatory documents
9. Customer and supplier information

6. Records we hold to comply with the Law

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We hold records that all organisations are required by law to hold.

7. How you can request access

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We have appointed our information officer to deal with all matters relating to PAIA so we can comply with our PAIA obligations. To request access to a record, please complete Form 2.

Please submit the completed form (together with the relevant request fee we explain below) to our information officer’s email address using the details we provide. Please ensure that the completed form:

1. has enough information for the information officer to identify you, the requested records, and the form of access you require,
2. specifies your email address, postal address, or contact number,
3. describes the right that you seek to exercise or protect,
4. explains why you need the requested record to exercise or protect that right,
5. provides any other way you would like to be informed of our decision other than in writing, and
6. provides proof of the capacity in which you are making the request if you are making it on behalf of someone else (we will decide whether this proof is satisfactory).

1. reject the request due to lack of procedural compliance,
2. refuse it if you do not provide sufficient information, or
3. delay it.

8. How we will give you access under this Access to Information Manual

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We will evaluate and consider all requests we receive. If we approve your request, we will decide how to provide access to you, unless you have asked for access in a specific form. Publication of this manual does not give rise to any rights to access information records, except in terms of PAIA.

9. How much it will cost you

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Request fees:

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When submitting your request, you must pay us a request fee as the law prescribes. You must pay us the prescribed fees before we give you access. You will receive a notice from our information officer upon your request, setting out the application procedure.

Access fees:

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If we grant the request, you will have to pay us a further access fee the law prescribes that includes a fee for the time it takes us to handle your request, or if the time has exceeded the prescribed hours to search and prepare the record for disclosure. Our information officer will notify you if you need to pay a deposit for the access fee. The deposit may be up to one-third of the prescribed access fee.

The access fee will provide for:

1. the costs of making the record, or transcribing the record,
2. a postal fee (if applicable), and
3. the reasonable time we need to search for the record and prepare the record for you.

10. Grounds for us to refuse access

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We may have to refuse you access to certain records in terms of PAIA to protect:

1. someone else’s privacy,
2. another company’s commercial information,
3. someone else’s confidential information,
4. research information,
5. the safety of individuals and property.

We will notify you in writing whether your request has been approved or denied within 30 calendar days after receiving your request. If we cannot find the record you asked for or it does not exist, we will notify you by way of affidavit that it is not possible to give access to that record.

11. Remedies available if we refuse to give you access

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If we deny your request for access, you may:

1. apply to a court (Section 78) with appropriate jurisdiction, or
2. Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator.

for the necessary relief within 180 calendar days of us notifying you of our decision.

12. How we process and protect personal information

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We process the personal information of various categories of people for various purposes. Please refer to our website for our Privacy Policy or ask our information officer for a copy.

13. Availability of this Access to Information Manual

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This manual is available in English in electronic format on our website and in physical format at the reception of our company offices.

14. Updates to this Access to Information Manual

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We will update this Access to Information Manual whenever we make material changes to it.