Legal
PAIA manual
The Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) gives people the right to request records held by private bodies. African Payment Solutions (Pty) Ltd maintains a PAIA manual as the Act requires; this page explains what the manual covers and how to request it, or the records it describes.
This document is a working draft prepared for launch and is subject to final legal review. [PENDING: legal-review]
What is PAIA?
The Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA) is the South African law that gives effect to the constitutional right of access to information. It sets out how anyone may request records held by public and private bodies, and the grounds on which access may be granted or refused.
Our PAIA manual
As a private body, African Payment Solutions (Pty) Ltd maintains a PAIA manual as required by section 51 of the Act. The manual describes the company's structure, the categories of records we hold and the procedure for requesting access to them. It is available on request through our contact page and from our information officer at info@africanpaymentsolutions.com.
Categories of records we hold
In general terms, our records fall into these categories:
- Corporate records: statutory documents, governance and company secretarial records.
- Financial records: accounting records, banking and tax documentation.
- Operational records: agreements with merchants, suppliers and partners, and records generated in operating our payment services.
- Personnel records: employment records held in terms of employment and labour legislation.
The PAIA manual lists these categories in the detail the Act requires. Listing a category here does not mean a record in it is automatically available; every request is assessed under PAIA's provisions, including its grounds of refusal.
How to request access
Requests must be made on the prescribed form set out in the PAIA regulations and submitted to our information officer, identifying the record requested and, where applicable, the right you seek to exercise or protect. The prescribed request and access fees under the Act apply. We respond within the timeframes PAIA sets, and if a request is refused we give reasons with reference to the Act.
The Information Regulator
The Information Regulator (South Africa) oversees compliance with PAIA and POPIA. If you believe a request has been wrongly refused or mishandled, you may lodge a complaint with the Regulator, whose guidance and complaint procedures are published on its website.
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