The Promotion of Access to Information Act No 2 of 2000 (PAIA) as amended was assented to by the President of the Republic of South Africa (RSA) on the 3rd of February 2000 and came into effect in part on the 9th of March 2001. The PAIA legislation has been enacted in accordance with section 32 (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, stipulating that everyone has the right of access to any information held by the State, and any information that is held by another person when that information is required for the exercise or protection of any rights subject to limitation in terms of section 36 of the Constitution and that national legislation must be enacted to give effect to this right.
The Department of Public Works is required by Legislation to prepare a section 14 manual that will provide for a guide or procedure available to any person who wants to gain access of information held by the Department in exercise and protection of his/her rights. This manual must be in line with the requirements of the Promotion of Access to Information Act No 2 of 2000 (PAIA) as amended.
Promotion of Access to Information Act no. 2. of 2000 (PAIA) was enacted in order to:
- Foster a culture of transparency and accountability in public and private bodies by giving effect to the right of access to information;
- Actively promote a society in which the people of South Africa have effective access to information, to enable them to fully exercise and protect all of their rights.
The Act details procedures to be followed when making requests for information held either by a public body or private body.
The central e-mail for routing requests for information in terms of the PAIA is: info.paia@dpw.gov.za
For any PAIA enquiries please contact the PAIA Administration office at 012 406 1850/1177