PAIA Manual Requirements in South Africa: What Must Be Included?
Meeting the PAIA Manual requirements in South Africa can look deceptively simple. Download a template, insert the company name, add the director’s details, save it as a PDF and place it on the website. The problem with that approach is that the purpose of a PAIA Manual is not to produce a document that happens […]
Does Every Company in South Africa Need a PAIA Manual?
Who needs a PAIA manual in South Africa? If you have been running a business here for a while, you may remember being told that your company was too small to need one. At the time, that advice may even have been correct. The problem is that the exemptions that created this distinction did not […]
PAIA Compliance in South Africa: What Businesses Actually Need to Do
Search for “PAIA compliance South Africa” and much of the advice you will find focuses on a single document. For many South African businesses, PAIA compliance starts and ends with a document saved somewhere called the “PAIA Manual”. Unfortunately, that is also where much of the confusion around PAIA begins. The Promotion of Access to […]
Real-World Guidance for South Africa’s Information Officers – what happens after a data breach?
A Breach Has Happened. Now What? In our previous article, we explored the role of the Information Officer (IO) and their responsibilities under South Africa’s POPIA and PAIA. But let’s talk about what happens when things don’t go as planned, because, in reality, mistakes do happen. Maybe a laptop with sensitive data gets stolen, an […]
Becoming an Information Officer: What You Need to Know Before You Say “Yes”
Congratulations! You’ve either volunteered or been appointed as your organisation’s Information Officer (IO). It’s a significant responsibility—and one worth fully understanding before diving in. Since South Africa’s POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act) and PAIA (Promotion of Access to Information Act) have come into full effect, the visibility and importance of the IO role have […]