The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services has given private bodies until the end of this year to compile a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) Manual.
The exemption is effective from 1 July to 31 December 2021, to give private bodies that are currently exempted adequate time to compile their PAIA Manual.
From 1 January 2022, all public and private bodies, including those that are currently exempted, must have their PAIA Manual available at their principal place of business or on their website.
The exemption does not apply to entities that are not “private companies” as defined in section 1 of the Companies Act or to entities that are “private companies” in terms of Act that:
- Operate in any of the sectors in Column 1 of the table and have 50 or more employees; or
- Have a total annual turnover that is equal to or more than the amount in Column 2.
From 30 June 2021, public and private bodies no longer have to submit their PAIA Manuals to the Information Regulator.
