The Grahamstown-based Unemployed People’s Movement is taking advantage of a piece of legislation that allows members of the public to demand information from government authorities.
The Grahamstown-based Unemployed People’s Movement is taking advantage of a piece of legislation that allows members of the public to demand information from government authorities.
This law is known as the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA). It was passed because the South African Constitution guarantees everyone the right of access to information held by the state or another person which is required for them to exercise their rights.
Parliament passed the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) in 2000 to promote transparency, accountability and effective governance, among other things. The act is meant to empower citizens to “effectively scrutinise and participate in decision-making by public bodies that affects their rights” and to promote a culture of human rights and social justice.
English is the formal language of communication with regard to the act and the person making the request – the requester – has to say what kind of requester he or she is. A personal requester is someone seeking access to a record containing personal information about oneself and there are no request or access fee(s) payable.
However, public bodies that are exercising a public power or function in terms of legislation are liable for the payment of such fees. A request fee payable and deposit on access fee(s) payable, a request for access must be made by completing the prescribed PAIA form, paying the request fee (R35) and sending it to the affected department’s Information Officer.
The request forms should be made available in all government departments and citizens may collect, download from the government website or request the forms to be forwarded to them via fax, letter or email by information officers. The form should be delivered, posted or faxed to the information office and the requester should keep a copy of the request for his/her own records.
The affected department has 30 days (where applicable) to make a decision. “An additional 30 days may be added to the original period to make the decision,” explains the act. “The requester will be informed in writing by post, within 30 days, of the decision to extend the period.”
If an information officer fails to respond within 60 days (including the extended period) to the request it should be regarded as a refusal and the requester may lodge an internal appeal.
