The Information Regulator South Africa (Regulator) as part of its provincial roadshow programme visited South Africa’s Mpumalanga province from 19 to 20 July 2023, bringing the Regulator “closer to the people”. The roadshows are characterised by a series of activities with an aim to engage with the community members and stakeholders at large extensively and robustly on the right to privacy as it relates for protection of information and the right of access to information. The Regulator has taken a stance to heighten its visibility and promote its programme and services so to enhance knowledge on the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA).
Adv Pansy Tlakula the Chairperson of the Regulator led the engagements at the community information sharing session which is dubbed as Dikopano (meaning a community meeting in Setswana, one of South Africa’s official languages) as well as a stakeholder breakfast session. The Dikopano was attended by over 600 community members who were eager to engage with the Regulator and this was evidenced by their active participation during the question-and-answer session. The Stakeholder Breakfast session was intended to equip organisations with knowledge on compliance matters. Stakeholders were urged to take compliance with POPIA and PAIA seriously as the Regulator will not hesitate to use its enforcement powers to deal with non-compliance. The community leaders and members expressed gratitude for the Regulator bringing the programme to their doorstep and empowering them to exercise their rights to privacy as it relates to the protection of personal information and access to information. “If your information is processed unlawfully by any company or public institution, we urge you to lodge a complaint with us. We will fine organisations up to 10 million rands if they do not respect your rights” emphasised Adv Tlakula.
The session was a special one as it was on the backdrop of the month which South Africa and the world celebrate the life of Nelson Mandela. In July of every year many organisations partake in acts of goodwill and support community development with a particular focus on vulnerable groups. Therefore, over and above the engagements with the stakeholders and the general public the Regulator participated in the global call to contribute 67 minutes in an act of goodwill for Mandela Day. The Regulator aligned itself to Mandela’s love for the children and spent a day at a local Early Childhood Development Centre (ECD) carrying out maintenance work to improve the condition of the facility. The Regulator empowered the ECD caregivers on the importance of lawful processing of personal information of children. They further painted the ECD and donated learning materials, toys, food and goodies.
As much as the Regulator is responsible for the promotion and protection of two human rights as enshrined in the Constitution of South Africa, it is a tireless advocate for all human rights and improving people’s lives for the better, recognising that information rights are enablers for the realisation of other rights.
Chairperson Adv Tlakula engaging and encouraging the tribal authority of Nkambeni in Mpumalanga Province to play an active role in sharing information about POPIA and PAIA to the communities.