The Promotion of Access to Information Act Manual

This manual was prepared in accordance with Section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 and the requirements of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013.

1. BACKGROUND TO THE PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT

(a)  The Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (“PAIA”) gives effect to Section 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, which affords the Constitutional right of access to any information held by the State or by any other person where such information is required for the exercise or protection of any right and gives natural and juristic persons the right of access to records held by either a private or public body, subject to certain limitations, in order to enable them to exercise or protect their rights.

(b)  Where a request is made in terms of PAIA, the private body must disclose the information if the request is required for the exercise or the protection of any rights and provided that no grounds of refusal contained in PAIA are applicable. However, such a request must comply with the pro- cedural requirements set out in PAIA.

(c)  In terms of Section 51 of PAIA, all private bodies are obliged to compile a Manual to enable a person to obtain access to information and stipulates the minimum requirements that the Manual must comply with.

2. DALRO

(a)  DALRO is a private company which administers (or licenses) various aspects of copyright on behalf of authors, artists and publishers (“Right Holders”). DALRO administers reprographic reproduction rights (from published editions), public performance rights (including stage rights for musicals and plays) and reproduction rights (granted for both publishing and copying) in works of visual art.

(b)  DALRO’s PAIA Manual is available at its premises at Waverley Office Park Building 1, 15 Forest Road, Bramley, Gauteng, 2090.

3. PURPOSE & OBJECTIVE OF THE PAIA MANUAL

(a)  The purpose of PAIA is to promote the right of access to information, to foster a culture of trans- parency and accountability within DALRO by giving the right to information that is required for the exercise or protection of any right and to actively promote a society in which the people of South Africa have effective access to information to enable them to exercise and protect their rights.

(b)  The objectives of this Manual are:

  • to provide a list of all records held by DALRO;
  • to set out the requirements regarding who may request information in terms of PAIA as well as the grounds on which a request may be denied;
  • to define the manner and form in which a request for information must be submitted; and
  • to comply with the additional requirements imposed by the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPIA”).

4. THE INFORMATION OFFICER

(a)  PAIA and POPIA prescribes the appointment of an Information Officer for private bodies where such Information Officer is responsible to, inter alia, assess requests for access to information and ensure compliance by the private body with POPIA.

(b)  Section 56 of POPIA makes provision for the appointed Information Officer to delegate the associated duties and responsibilities to a duly authorised person.

5. COMPANY INFORMATION & CONTACT DETAILS OF THE INFORMATION OFFICER

  • Name of Body: DRAMATIC ARTISTIC AND LITERARY RIGHTS ORGANISATION PROPRIETARY LIMITED
  • Information Officer: Lazarus Serobe
  • Physical Address: Waverley Office Park Building 1, 15 Forest Road, Bramley, Gauteng, 2090
  • Telephone Number: +27 (0)11 822 7469
  • E-mail address: [email protected]

6. INFORMATION REGULATORS GUIDE

(a) The PAIA Guide has been compiled and contains information to assist a person wishing to exercise a right of access to information in terms of PAIA and POPIA. A copy of this Guide, in the manner prescribed, is made available by the Information Regulator. Any enquiries regarding the Guide should be directed to:

The Information Regulator
JD House
27 Siemens Street,
Braamfontein,
Johannesburg

Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.justice.gov.za/inforeg/

7. REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION

(a)  PAIA provides that a person may only make a request for information, if the information is re- quired for the exercise or protection of a legitimate right.

(b)  Information will therefore not be furnished unless a person provides sufficient particulars to en- able DALRO to identify the right that the requester is seeking to protect as well as an explanation as to why the requested information is required for the exercise or protection of that right.

(c)  The Information Officer has been delegated with the task of receiving and co-ordinating all re- quests for access to records in terms of PAIA, in order to ensure proper compliance with PAIA and POPIA.

(d)  The Information Officer will facilitate the liaison with the legal advisor on all of these requests.

(e)  All requests in terms of PAIA and this Manual must be addressed to the Information Officer using the details provided above.

8. INFORMATION AVAILABLE BY DALRO IN TERMS OF POPIA

(a) Personal information collected by DALRO
DALRO may collect 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 gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, national, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental health, well-being, 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, physical address, telephone number, loca- tion information, online identifier or other particular assignment to the person;

  • the personal opinions, views or preferences of the person;

  • correspondence sent by the person that is implicitly or explicitly of a private or confidential nature or further correspondence that would reveal the contents of the original correspondence;

  • the views or opinions of another individual about 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;

  • the religious or philosophical beliefs, race or ethnic origin, trade union membership, political persuasion, intellectual property, financial information, health or sex life or biometric information of a data subject; or the criminal behaviour of a data subject to the extent that such information relates to-

    o the alleged commission by a data subject of any offence; or
    o any proceedings in respect of any offence allegedly committed by a data subject or the disposal of such proceedings.

(b)  Purpose of processing personal information

  • In terms of POPIA, personal information must be processed for a specified purpose. The purpose for which data is processed by DALRO will depend on the nature of the data and the particular data subject. This purpose is ordinarily disclosed, explicitly or implicitly, at the time the data is collected. Please also refer to the DALRO’s Privacy Policy for further information.

  • In general, personal information is processed for purposes of dealing with customers, complaints, procurement purposes, records management, security, employment and related matters.

(c)  Data subjects and Information/Records

DALRO holds information and records on the following categories of data subjects:

  • Employees and Board Members of DALRO;
  • Right Holders of copyrighted works managed by DALRO;
  • Users of copyrighted works managed by DALRO;
  • Suppliers of DALRO.

(This list of categories of data subjects is non-exhaustive.)

(d)  Recipients to whom the personal information may be supplied

Depending on the nature of the personal information, DALRO may supply information or records to the following categories of recipients:

  • Statutory oversight bodies, regulators or judicial commissions of enquiry making a request for personal information;
  • Any court, administrative or judicial forum, arbitration, statutory commission, or ombudsman making a request for personal information or discovery in terms of the applicable rules;
  • South African Revenue Services, or another similar authority;
  • Anyone making a successful application for access in terms of PAIA or POPIA; and
  • Subject to the provisions of POPIA and other relevant legislation, DALRO may share information about a data subject’s creditworthiness with any credit bureau or credit providers industry association or other association for an industry in which DALRO operates.

(e)  Transborder flows of personal information

  • If a data subject visits DALRO’s website from a country other than South Africa, the various communications will necessarily result in the transfer of information across international boundaries.
  • DALRO may need to transfer a data subject’s information to service providers in countries outside South Africa, in which case it will fully comply with applicable data protection legislation.
  • These countries may not have data-protection laws which are similar to those of South Africa.

9. RECORDS AVAILABLE AND HELD IN ACCORDANCE WITH OTHER LEGISLATION

Electronic Records are available in terms of certain provisions of the following legislation to the persons or entities specified in such legislation:

  • Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997
  • Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003
  • Companies Act 71 of 2008
  • Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Health Diseases Act 130 of 1993
  • Competition Act 89 of 1998
  • Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008
  • Copyright Act 98 of 1978
  • Constitution of South Africa Act 108 of 1996
  • Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002
  • Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998
  • Employment Services Act 4 of 2014
  • Employment Tax Incentive Act 26 of 2013
  • Exchange Control Regulation 1961
  • Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001
  • Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Act 2017
  • Income Tax Act 58 of 1962
  • Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act 51 of 2008
  • Intellectually Property Laws Amendment Act 28 of 2013
  • Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995
  • Occupational Health & Safety Act 85 of 1993
  • Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004
  • Prevention of Organised Crime Act 14 of 1998
  • Promotion of Access of Information Act 2 of 2000
  • Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013
  • Skills Development Act 97 of 1998
  • Skills Development Levies Act 9 of 1999
  • South African Revenue Services Act 34 of 1997
  • Trade Marks Act 194 of 1993
  • Unemployment Contributions Act 4 of 2002
  • Unemployment Insurance Act 63 of 2001
  • Value Added Tax Act 89 of 1991

10. RECORDS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

a)  DALRO maintains records on the categories and subject matters listed below, however this list is not exhaustive. All requests for access will be evaluated in accordance with the provisions of PAIA.

(b)  Please note further that many of the records held by DALRO are those of third parties, such as Right Holders, Users, suppliers and employees, and DALRO takes the protection of third-party confidential information very seriously. Requests for access to these records will be considered very carefully and the requests for such records must be carefully motivated.

Category of Records

Records

Statutory Company Information

  • Memorandum and Articles of Association
  • Certificate of Incorporation
  • Share Registers of DALRO
  • Financial statements/records
  • Operational records
  • Intellectual property
  • Internal correspondence
  • Internal policies and procedures
  • Minutes of meetings

Employee records

  • Any personal records provided to us by our employees
  • Any records a third party has provided to us about any of their employees
  • Conditions of employment and other employee-related contractual and quasi legal records
  • Employment policies and procedures
  • Internal evaluation and disciplinary records and
  • Other internal records and correspondence.

Right Holder-related records

  • Contracts with Right Holders and other persons
  • Statutory company documents and documents related to Right Holder representative
  • Intellectual Property

Users of DALRO

  • Contracts with Users and other persons
  • Statutory company documents and documents related to User repre- sentative

Other third party records

  • Rights Holders, Users and Employee records which are held by an- other party as opposed to being held by DALRO
  • Records held by DALRO pertaining to other parties, including financial records, correspondence, contractual records, records provided by the other party, and records third parties have provided about the con- tractors or suppliers

Intellectual Property Records

  • Trademarks
  • Copyright
  • Licences relating to intellectual property
  • Other agreements related to intellectual property rights

Transformation and Stakehold- er Development Records

  • Proposals for funding received
  • Records concerning organisations receiving support Schedules of approved projects
  • Reports, books, publications and general information Records and contracts of agreements

Supplier Records

  • Policies and procedures manuals
  • Agreements with Suppliers

Human Resources Records

Human Resources Policies and Processes

Employee records relating to:

  • Employment
  • Remuneration and Incentives
  • Accommodation
  • Performance Management
  • Employee Development
  • Employee Relations
  • Employee Care
  • Human Resource Administration
  • Health and Wellness
  • Separations
  • Managerial
  • Disciplinary Hearings
  • Employment Equity Plan

Finance Records

Records for DALRO include:

  • Supplier invoices
  • Payment advices
  • Accounts receivable
  • Banking records
  • Management and monthly accounts, quarterly and annual financial statements
  • External audit reports and records
  • Annual budgets
  • Fixed asset register
  • Accounting policies and procedures
  • Benchmarking
  • Guarantees, undertakings, subordinations, bonds and similar liabilities

Other records comprise:

  • Medical scheme reports
  • Financial correspondence

Operational Audit, Risk (including Insurance)

Legal Records

  • Details of external counsel used by the company (locally and abroad)
  • Offshore company data sheets
  • Copies of agreements to which group companies are party to
  • List of current matters
  • Details of legal proceedings
  • General legal correspondence

Tax Records

  • Tax returns as filed with the South African Revenue Services (“SARS”)
  • Correspondence with SARS on various issues

Information Technology Records

  • Service contracts
  • Policies, standards and procedures
  • Internal reports and correspondence
  • Project plans and project minutes
  • Software licensing agreements

Operations Records

Current records concerning:

  • Business plans
  • Capital projects
  • Administration and management of the operations
  • Health, safety and environmental
  • Operational reports

Other records

  • Information relating to DALRO
  • Research information belonging to DALRO or carried out on behalf of a third party

11. REQUEST PROCEDURE & FEES

(a) Any request for access to a record in terms of PAIA must comply with the procedural requirements contained in PAIA and should be specific in terms of the record requested.

(b) The request together with the completed form must be submitted to the Information Officer at the postal or physical address or electronic mail address as set out above with a request fee and a deposit, where so advised.

(c) The prescribed form must be completed with sufficient information to enable the Information Officer to identify the record or records requested;

  • the identity of the requester;
  • the form of access required;
  • the e-mail, postal address or fax number of the requester;
  • whether the requester wishes to be informed of the decision in any manner (in addition to written) the manner and particulars thereof.

(d) The requester must state that they require the information in order to exercise or protect a right, and clearly state the nature of the right to be exercised or protected. The requester must clearly specify why the record is necessary to exercise or protect such a right.

(e) A request for access to information which does not comply with the formalities as prescribed by PAIA will be returned to you.

(f) POPIA provides that a data subject may, upon proof of identity, request DALRO to confirm, free of charge, all the information it holds about the data subject and may request access to such information, including information about the identity of third parties who have or have had access to such information.

(g) POPIA also provides that where the data subject is required to pay a fee for services provided to them, DALRO must provide the data subject with a written estimate of the payable amount before providing the service and may require that the data subject pays a deposit for all or part of the fee.

(h) Grounds for refusal of the data subject’s request are set out in PAIA and are discussed below.

(i) POPIA provides that a data subject may object, at any time, to the processing of personal information by DALRO, on reasonable grounds relating to their particular situation, unless legislation provides for such processing. The data subject must complete the prescribed form and submit this to the Information Officer
at the postal or physical address, facsimile number or electronic mail address set out above.

(j) A data subject may also request DALRO to correct or delete personal information about the data subject in its possession or under its control that is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, out of date, incomplete, misleading or obtained unlawfully; or destroy or delete a record of personal information about the data subject that DALRO is no longer authorised to retain records in terms of POPIA’s retention and restriction of records provisions.

(k) A data subject that wishes to request a correction or deletion of personal information or the destruction or deletion of a record of personal information must submit a request to the Information Officer at the postal or physical address, facsimile number or electronic mail address set out above.

(l) Proof of identity

Proof of identity is required to authenticate the requester’s identity and the request. The requester will, in addition to the prescribed form, be required to submit acceptable proof of identity such as a certified copy of the requester’s identity document or other legal forms of identity

Where the request is made on behalf of another person, the requester must submit proof, in the form of an affidavit or letter of consent, of the capacity in which the requester is making the request to the satisfaction of the Information Officer.

(m) Section 54 of PAIA entitles DALRO to levy a charge or to request a fee to enable it to recover the cost of processing a request and providing access to records. There are two categories of fees which are payable:

  • The request fee: R50
  • The access fee: This is calculated by taking into account reproduction costs, search and
    preparation costs, as well as postal costs. These fees are set out in Annexure B.

(n) When the request is received by the Information Officer, the Information Officer will by notice require the requester, other than a personal requester, to pay the regulated prescribed request fee (if any), before further processing of the request.

(o) Where a decision to grant a request has been taken, the record will not be disclosed until the necessary fees have been paid in full.

(p) A requester whose request for access to a record has been granted must pay an access fee for reproduction and for search and preparation, and for any time reasonably required in excess of the prescribed hours to search for and prepare the record for disclosure, including making arrangements to make it available in the request form.

(q) If a deposit has been paid for a request for access, which is refused, then the Information Officer must repay the deposit to the requester.

(r)  Reproduction Fee

Where DALRO has voluntarily provided the Minister of Justice with a list of categories of records that will automatically be made available to any person requesting access thereto, the only charge that may be levied for obtaining such records will be a fee for reproduction of the record in question.

The applicable fees payable are attached as Annexure B thereto.

 

(s) Deposits
Where DALRO receives a request for access to information held on a data subject other than the requester and the Information Officer upon receipt of the request is of the opinion that the preparation of the required record of disclosure will take more than six hours, a deposit is payable by the requester.

The amount of the deposit is equal to one-third of the amount of the applicable access fee (ex- cluding VAT).

(t) Collection of Fees
Bank deposit is the only accepted payment method for PAIA requests. Banking details to be
provided on request.

(u) Timelines for consideration of a request for access

  • Requests will be processed within 30 (thirty) days, unless the request contains considerations that are of such a nature that an extension of the time limit is needed.
  • The 30 (thirty) day period may be extended for a further period of not more than 30 (thirty) days if the request is for a large amount of information, or the request requires a search for information held at another office of DALRO and the information cannot reasonably be obtained within the original 30 (thirty) day period.
  • Should an extension be given, DALRO will notify the requester in writing and will also provide the procedure involved should the requestor wish to apply to court against the extension. Should an extension be required, the requester will be notified, together with reasons explaining why the extension is necessary.

(v) Grounds for refusal of access and protection of information
There are various grounds upon which a request for access to a record may be refused. These grounds include:

  • the protection of personal information of a third person (who is a natural person) from unreasonable disclosure;
  • the protection of commercial information of a third party (for example: trade secrets; financial, commercial,
    scientific or technical information that may harm the commercial or financial interests of a third party);
  • if disclosure would result in the breach of a duty of confidence owed to a third party;
  • if disclosure would jeopardise the safety of an individual or prejudice or impair certain property rights of a third person;
  • if the record was produced during legal proceedings, unless that legal privilege has been waived;
  • if the record contains trade secrets, financial or sensitive information or any information that would put DALRO at a disadvantage in negotiations or prejudice it in commercial competition; and/or
  • if the record contains information about research being carried out or about to be carried out on behalf of a third party or by DALRO.

Section 70 of PAIA contains an overriding provision. Disclosure of a record is compulsory if it would reveal (i) a substantial contravention of, or failure to comply with the law; or (ii) there is an imminent and serious public safety or environmental risk; and (iii) the public interest in the disclosure of the record in question clearly outweighs the harm contemplated by its disclosure.

If the request for access to information affects a third party, then such third party must first be informed within 21 (twenty-one) days of receipt of the request. The third party would then have a further 21 (twenty one) days to make representations and/or submissions regarding the granting of access to the record.

12. REMEDIES AVAILABLE TO A REQUESTER ON REFUSAL OF ACCESS

(a)  If the Information Officer decides to grant the requester access to the particular record, such access must be grant- ed as specified above.

(b)  There is no internal appeal procedure that may be followed after a request to access information has been refused. The decision made by the Information Officer is final. In the event that the requester is not satisfied with the out- come of the request, the requester is entitled to apply to a court of competent jurisdiction to take the matter further.

(c)  Within 30 (thirty) days of receiving the request, where a third party is affected by the request for access and the Information Officer has decided to grant the requester access to the record, the third party has 30 (thirty) days in which to appeal the decision in a court of competent jurisdiction. If no appeal has been lodged by the third party within 30 (thirty) days, the requester must be granted access to the record.

13. AVAILABILITY OF THIS MANUAL

Copies of this Manual are available for inspection, free of charge, at the offices of DALRO at :

Waverley Office Park Building 1, 15 Forest Road, Bramley, Gauteng, 2090.