Foreword by the Chief Executive Officer
The right of access to information is a unique right within the South African Bill of Rights,
and has a distinct history within the work and mandate of the South African Human Rights
Commission which was the institution originally set up under the Promotion of Access to
Information Act (PAIA) to monitor the realisation of this right.
The formulation of the right of access to information in the South African Constitution is
particularly unique as it places an obligation upon both public and private bodies to allow
access to records held by them. For private bodies, this is conditioned upon the
demonstration that the information is needed for the exercise or protection of other rights.
The PAIA was established to promote the right of access to information and to promote
transparency and accountability within both the public and private sectors of society in
order to more fully realise South Africa’s goals of an open and participatory democracy.
This PAIA Guide has been developed in fulfilment of the South African Human Rights
Commission’s (the Commission) obligation under Section 10 of the PAIA which provides for
the Commission to draft and compile a Guide to assist people in using and understanding
PAIA to enable the realisation of their right of access to information.
This Guide on How to Use the Promotion of Access to Information Act has been designed to
be a guidance tool for individuals, communities and institutions, and is intended to be userfriendly and accessible. This Guide will be made available at various institutions across the
country (further details provided in Section 2 of this Guide).
Sincerely,
Kayum Ahmed
CEO, South African Human Rights Commission
South African Human Rights Commission
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