Public, Private Bodies Called To Submit Reports On Access To Information

The Information Regulator has invited all public and private bodies to submit their Annual Reports for the 2022-2023 financial year on access to information requests received and processed by 30 June 2023.

In terms of section 32 of the Promotion of Access to Information (PAIA), the information officer of every public body must submit – on an annual basis – a report to the Regulator in respect of access to information requests received and processed by the public body.

Section 83(4) of PAIA empowers the Regulator to also request the heads of private bodies to furnish it with reports about requests for access to records of the private body.

The objective of the submissions is to determine whether public and private bodies are receiving and recording requests for information.

“The data from the reports will provide a picture of the status of compliance with PAIA and its implementation in public and private bodies,” the Regulator explained.

The Regulator said the report requires bodies to indicate whether the requests for information that were received were responded to within the time frames stipulated in PAIA and whether there were any internal appeals and the outcomes of those appeals.

“This will also help to ascertain the usage of PAIA by members of the public when it comes to access to information and help measure or indicate the levels of awareness of PAIA from the side of the requester and public and private bodies,” the Regulator said.

As part of the Regulator’s efforts to encourage compliance with the provisions of PAIA, the Regulator has developed an online portal for submission of annual reports.

The portal can be accessed at https://registrations.inforegulator.org.za/landing.

The portal has been live from 1 May 2023 and will close on 30 June 2023.

For any general enquiries relating to compliance with section 32 and 83(4) of PAIA, contact Mr Ntsumbedzeni Nemasisi at [email protected] or Ms Nokwanda Molefe at [email protected]. – SAnews.gov.za