Phau Ntawv Qhia

TITLE:
PAIA and POPIA Manual
DOC No:
DMSA-PAIA/POPIA-01
REV:
00
Page 2 of 16
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
1. Scope and Introduction 2-3
2. Disclaimer 3
3. Company Background 3
4. Company and Information Officers Contact Details 3-4
5. Guide of the Information Regulator and the Right to Request Access to Records 4-5
6. Information available in terms of Section 51 (1) (d) of PAIA 5
7. Records automatically available without a person having to request access in terms of PAIA 5
8. Subjects and Categories of Records held by Digital Matter 5-8
9. Personal Information that may be requested by a person 8
10. Procedure and Fees for requesting Access to Information 8-9
11. Completion of Request for Access Form 10
12. Decision 10
13. Grounds of refusal
10-11
14. Records that cannot be found 11
15. Third-Party Information 11
16. Remedies available when Digital Matter refuses a request for Information 11
Annexure A: Request for access to record of Private Body 12-14
Annexure B: Prescribed Fees 15-16
THE DIGITAL MATTER EMBEDDED SOUTH AFRICA PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND
PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION MANUAL
1. Scope and Introduction
The purpose of this document is to serve as the Manual for Digital Matter Embedded South Africa “Digital
Matter”) and its holding company and subsidiaries of its holding company, altogether referred to as the
“DM Group” as required in terms of Section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act No. 2 of
2000 as amended (“PAIA”) and Section 17 of the Protection of Personal Information Act No. 4 of 2013 as
may be amended from time to time (“POPIA”). PAIA was assented to by Parliament to fulfill the
constitutional obligation of Section 32 of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the Republic of South
Africa, Act No. 108 of 1996 (“the Constitution) stating that every person has a right to access information.
The purpose of PAIA is to give effect to this constitutional right of access to any information held by the
State or information held by another person that is required for the exercise or protection of any right.
The reason for giving effect to the right of access to information is two-fold and is to:
• foster a culture of transparency and accountability in both public and private bodies; and
• promote a society in which the people of the Republic of South Africa have reasonable access to
information to enable them to exercise and protect their rights more fully.
Notwithstanding the above, Section 9 of the Act recognizes that such right to access to information cannot
be unlimited and must be subject to justifiable limitations including but not limited to:
• the reasonable protection of privacy; and
• commercial confidentiality; and
• good governance; and