In this document, unless the context indicates otherwise, the words and expressions set out below shall have the meanings assigned to them and cognate expressions shall have a corresponding meaning, namely:
1.1 “Manual” means this PAIA manual;
1.2 “PAIA” means the Promotion of Access to Information Act No. 2 of 2000;
1.3 “Personal Information” shall have the meaning ascribed thereto in terms of section 1 of POPI, namely: any information relating to an identifiable, living, natural person, and where it is applicable, an identifiable, existing juristic person, including, but not limited to – information relating to the race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, national, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental health, wellbeing, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth of the person; information relating to the education or the medical, financial, criminal or employment history of the person; any identifying number, symbol, e-mail address, telephone number, location information, online identifier or other particular assignment to the person; the biometric information of the person; the personal opinions, views or preferences of the person; correspondence sent by the person that would reveal the contents of the original correspondence; the views or opinions of another individual regarding the person; and the name of the person if it appears with other personal information relating to the person or if the disclosure of the name itself would reveal information about the person;
1.4 “POPI” means the Protection of Personal Information Act No. 4 of 2013;
1.5 “Processing” means any operation or activity or any set of operations, whether or not by automatic means, concerning Personal Information, including:
1.5.1 the collection receipt, recording, organisation, collation, storage, updating or modification, retrieval, alteration, consultation or use;
1.5.2 dissemination by means of transmission, distribution or making available in any other form; and
1.5.3 merging, linking as well as restriction, degradation, erasure or destruction of information,
1.6 “VDMA” means Van Der Merwe Dorning Maponya Associates Incorporated (Registration number: 2010/007329/21).

2 BACKGROUND

2.1 VDMA holds records pertaining to its clients which are required to provide the necessary services to its clients.
2.2 PAIA provides for the right of access to information held by another person which is required for the exercise or protection of any rights.
2.3 This Manual has been prepared in accordance with section 51 of PAIA in order to provide for the manner and procedure in which records held by VDMA can be requested.

3 INFORMATION OFFICER

3.1 The VDMA information officer is Hazel Ann Jacobs (“Information Officer”).
3.2 The Information Officer is responsible for VDMA’s compliance with POPI, ensuring the lawful Processing of Personal Information of clients and attending to requests for records held by VDMA in terms of this Manual.
3.3 The details of the Information Officer and VDMA’s head office are as follows:
3.3.1 Information Officer:

Name: Hazel Ann Jacobs
Telephone Number: 010 612 0368
E-mail: hjacobs@vdmalaw.com

3.3.2 VDMA Head Office:

Attention: Hazel Ann Jacobs

Physical Address: 1240 John Vorster Drive
Centurion
Gauteng
0158

Postal Address: 1240 John Vorster Drive
Centurion
Gauteng
0158
Telephone Number: 010 612 0368
E-mail: hjacobs@vdmalaw.com
Website: https://vdmalaw.com

4 RIGHT TO ACCESS RECORDS OF PRIVATE BODY

In terms of PAIA, a person requesting records of a private body must be granted such access if:
4.1 the record is required for the exercise or protection of any rights;
4.2 the requesting person complies with the procedural requirements of PAIA; and
4.3 access is not refused in terms of a ground for refusal contained in PAIA.

5 RECORDS WHICH CAN BE ACCESSED WITHOUT A FORMAL REQUEST

VDMA is required to hold records in terms of the following Acts:
5.1 Basic Conditions of Employment Act No. 75 of 1997;
5.2 Companies Act No. 71 of 2008;
5.3 Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act No. 130 of 1993;
5.4 Competition Act No. 89 of 1998;
5.5 Consumer Protection Act No. 68 of 2008;
5.6 Copyright Act No. 98 of 1978;
5.7 Currency and Exchanges Act No. 9 of 1933;
5.8 Debt Collectors Act No. 114 of 1998;
5.9 Electronic Communications and Transactions Act No. 25 of 2002;
5.10 Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998;
5.11 Financial Intelligence Centre Act No. 38 of 2001;
5.12 Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962;
5.13 Labour Relations Act No. 66 of 1995;
5.14 National Credit Act No. 34 of 2005;
5.15 Occupational Health and Safety Act No. 85 of 1993;
5.16 Pension Funds Act No. 24 of 1956;
5.17 Regulation of Interception of Communications Act No. 70 of 2002;
5.18 Skills Development Act No. 97 of 1998;
5.19 Skills Development Levies Act No. 9 of 1999;
5.20 Trade Marks Act No. 194 of 1993;
5.21 Unemployment Insurance Act No. 63 of 2001;
5.22 Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act No. 4 of 2002; and
5.23 Value Added Tax Act No. 89 of 1991.

6 SUBJECTS AND CATEGORIES OF RECORDS HELD BY VDMA

6.1 The inclusion of any category of information of records must not be taken to mean that the said records will be made available to such person requesting access without following the necessary procedure set out in this Manual.
6.2 The following records are held by VDMA –
6.2.1 Company Records:
6.2.1.1 registration certificate;
6.2.1.2 memorandum of incorporation;
6.2.1.3 VAT number;
6.2.1.4 company signatory and representative details;
6.2.1.5 directors’ minute book; and
6.2.1.6 shareholders’ minute book,
6.2.2 Financial Records:
6.2.2.1 annual financial statements;
6.2.2.2 accounting records;
6.2.2.3 asset register;
6.2.2.4 bank and related records;
6.2.2.5 inventory register; and
6.2.2.6 income and expense vouchers,
6.2.3 Taxation Records:
6.2.3.1 Pay-as-you-earn records;
6.2.3.2 documents issued to employees for income tax purposes;
6.2.3.3 records of payments made to the South African Revenue Service on behalf of employees;
6.2.3.4 annual tax return records;
6.2.3.5 value-added-tax records;
6.2.3.6 skills development levies records; and
6.2.3.7 unemployment insurance fund records,
6.2.4 Personnel Documents and Records:
6.2.4.1 copy of identity document;
6.2.4.2 proof of address;
6.2.4.3 income tax number;
6.2.4.4 proof of bank account and bank account details;
6.2.4.5 disciplinary records;
6.2.4.6 employment contracts;
6.2.4.7 leave records;
6.2.4.8 remuneration records and policies;
6.2.4.9 training manuals;
6.2.4.10 training records; and
6.2.4.11 workmen’s compensation records.

7 REQUEST FOR RECORDS

7.1 A request for records in terms of PAIA must be made formally by way of e-mail or registered mail and in the prescribed format.
7.2 Requests for records must be directed to the Information Officer who shall consider the request and provide a decision within 30 (thirty) days of having received the request or having received the prescribed particulars in terms of section 53(2) of PAIA.
7.3 A request for information may be refused by VDMA if it does not comply with PAIA or if VDMA believes that there is a valid ground for objection in terms of PAIA.
7.4 The person requesting the information must provide VDMA with sufficient information for the Information Officer to identify the record and the person requesting the record.
7.5 The person requesting information must indicate the type of access required and his/her contact details including e-mail address, and postal address.
7.6 Should the req uesting person prefer a certain means of communication, such means of communication must be included in the request for information.
7.7 Should a request for records be made on behalf of a third party, authority to do so must be provided to the Information Officer.

8 GRANTING OF REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

8.1 Should a request be granted, VDMA shall provide the requesting person with the following information:
8.1.1 the access fee payable by the requesting person;
8.1.2 the type of access which will be granted; and
8.1.3 notice that the requesting person may approach a competent court to dispute the access fee or the type of access to be granted.
8.2 Once a request has been granted, the records shall be made available to the requesting person once the relevant fee has been paid.

9 DENIAL OF REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

9.1 A request for access to information may be refused in the following circumstances:
9.1.1 protecting Personal Information that VDMA holds regarding a third party from unreasonable disclosure;
9.1.2 protecting commercial information that VDMA holds regarding a third party and may harm the commercial or financial interests of such third party;
9.1.3 if the disclosure would result in a breach of a duty of confidence owed to a third party;
9.1.4 if the disclosure would jeopardise the safety or life of natural person;
9.1.5 if disclosure would prejudice or impair the security of property or means of transport of a person;
9.1.6 if disclosure would prejudice or impair the protection of a person who is subject to a witness protection scheme;
9.1.7 if disclosure would prejudice or impair the protection of the safety of the public;
9.1.8 the record is privileged from production in legal proceedings unless privilege in relation to such record has been waived;
9.1.9 if the record is a computer programme;
9.1.10 disclosure of the record will put VDMA at a disadvantage in contractual or other negotiations or prejudice VDMA in commercial competition;
9.1.11 disclosure of the record would harm the commercial or financial interests of VDMA; and
9.1.12 records containing information about research being carried out or about to be carried out on behalf of a third party or a company which is related to VDMA and which have not been made public by VDMA.
9.2 Should a request be refused, VDMA shall provide the requesting person with the following information –
9.2.1 adequate reasons for the refusal including the relevant sections of PAIA; and
9.2.2 notice that the requesting person may lodge an application with a competent court against the refusal and against the procedure including the period for lodging the application.

10 FEES

10.1 A non-refundable request fee is payable to VDMA upon the submission of a request.
10.2 A requesting party who has made a request for access to records and such request has been granted must pay an access fee to VDMA for the search and preparation of the records and any time reasonably required which exceeds the prescribed hours for searching and preparation arrangements.
10.3 The prescribed forms and fees are available on the website of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.

11 REQUEST FOR RECORDS CONTAINING THIRD PARTY INFORMATION

11.1 Should records be requested that contain information pertaining to a third party, VDMA is obliged to attempt to contact the third party to inform it of the request and to provide it with the opportunity to respond to the request by consenting or providing reasons why the access should be refused.
11.2 Should the third party provide reasons for the support of or against providing access, the Information Officer will consider such reasons in determining whether access should be granted.
11.3 The requesting party may appeal the decision of the Information Officer to a competent court in the Republic of South Africa in accordance with PAIA.

12 RECORDS THAT CANNOT BE FOUND OR DO NOT EXIST

12.1 Should all reasonable steps be taken by VDMA to find a requested record and there are reasonable grounds to believe that the record:
12.1.1 is in VDMA’s possession but cannot be found; or
12.1.2 does not exist,
then the Information Officer shall notify the requesting party that it is not possible to provide the requesting party access to such record.
12.2 The communication contemplated in clause 12.1 shall set out the steps taken and correspondence exchanged relating thereto by VDMA to find the requested record or to determine whether the record exists.
12.3 A notice in terms of clause 12.2 shall constitute a refusal by VDMA.
12.4 Should the record be found after a notice in terms of clause 12.2 is sent to the requesting party, VDMA shall provide the requesting party access to the record, unless refused in terms of a ground for refusal by the Information Officer.

13 AVAILABILITY OF THIS DOCUMENT

This Manual is available for inspection on VDMA’s website by clicking on the following link https://vdmalaw.com/paia-manual/.

14 DOCUMENT AMENDMENTS

14.1 This Manual shall be reviewed annually by VDMA.
14.2 Notwithstanding clause 14.1, VDMA may amend this Manual as and when required.

15 INTERPRETATION

15.1 In this Manual, unless the context requires otherwise:
15.1.1 words importing any one gender shall include the other two genders;
15.1.2 the singular shall include the plural and vice versa; and
15.1.3 a reference to natural persons shall include created entities (corporate or unincorporated) and vice versa.
15.2 In this Manual, the headings have been inserted for convenience only and shall not be used to assist or affect its interpretation.
15.3 Where a clause reference is referred to in this Manual and followed by the heading of the clause so referred, if there is any conflict between the two, the word reference to the heading shall prevail.
15.4 Words and/or expressions defined in any clause in the body of this Manual shall, unless the application of such words and/or expressions is specifically limited to that clause, bear the meaning so assigned to it throughout this Manual.
15.5 The eiusdem generis rule shall not apply and accordingly, whenever a provision is followed by the word “including” followed by specific examples, such examples shall not be construed to limit the ambit of the provision concerned.