“The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services has, on 27 August 2021, gazetted the Regulations relating to the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2021 (“PAIA Regulations”). In terms of PAIA Regulations, regulation 17(1) thereof, the following forms have been repealed-
- Form A – Request for access to record of a public body;
- Form B – Notice of Internal Appeal; and
- Form C – Request for access to record of a private body.”
The Regulator noticed that there are some private and public bodies that still have the abovementioned forms on their websites, and this is “hampering the right of access to information.”
In accordance with the notice and the relevant PAIA regulations, all responsible parties are hereby requested to ensure that the following prescribed forms are uploaded on their websites or included in their PAIA Manuals, within 14 days of receipt or publication of this notice:
- Form 02: Request for Access to Record [Regulation 7] – public & private bodies;
- Form 03: Outcome of request and of fees payable [Regulation 8] – public & private bodies; and
- Form 04: Internal Appeal Form [Regulation 9] – public bodies only.