Unbeknown to most of our readers, they almost became criminals overnight.
In an article titled Important changes to PAIA on Monday we reported about changes to the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) which would become effective today, 1 July 2021. We also noted that, unlike over the past 20 years, it appears that no further exemptions would be granted.
In brief, you were expected to publish your PAIA Manual on your website or displayed at your principal place of business and not submit it to the SA Human Rights Council, as in the past. Failing to do so by this morning would have meant that you would be committing a criminal offence. To add to your woes, you had to incorporate matters relating to the processing of personal information in terms of POPIA in your manual, if you have one.
Someone must have notified the authorities, because on Tuesday, a six-month reprieve was granted to those private bodies who were previously exempted. This would include most of our subscribers. Please note that this is the final extension of the deadline.
This morning we received two documents providing more details:
- A draft Government Gazette notice and
- A media statement on the transfer of the PAIA obligations to the Information Regulator
So, if you have not yet complied with this requirement, you are, technically speaking, transgressing the law until this draft is published. If you require more information, or assistance with compiling a PAIA compliant manual, you can visit the Access to Info website. The changes have already been incorporated in the templates available here.
Our advice had always been to get your manual drawn up, despite numerous extensions in the past. PAIA is like Stimerol – it stays with you. Don’t diarise this for six months from now – just get it done and move on.
