By the Access to Information NetworkFirst published on amaBhungane At midnight on 30 June 2021, life as we know it in South Africa changed in a small way. Key provisions of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 more commonly known as POPIA, came into effect on July 1. This Act brought about an array Read more >
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CORRUPTION NEWS
“Access to reliable information saves lives. Misinformation and rumours can cost them.” This is the message from Unesco director-general Audrey Azoulay today, on the International Day for Universal Access to Information, proclaimed at the Unesco general conference in 2015 and celebrated annually on 28 September. This simple lesson is one we have learnt to Read more >
OPINIONS
By Larry Kirsch The Covid-19 pandemic, precipitous global economic collapse, and demonstrations of civil protest from Minneapolis to Hong Kong and South Africa’s Western Cape have all demanded a decisive response from public leaders. The results, so far, have not instilled excessive confidence in the ability of governments – right, left, or centre – to Read more >
LEGISLATION AND SUBMISSIONS
By Judith February First published on EWN The recent brouhaha regarding President Cyril Ramaphosa and the so-called ‘Bosasa campaign donation’ has again put the funding of political parties in the spotlight. It started when DA leader Mmusi Maimane asked Ramaphosa about a donation of R500 000 he had allegedly received from Bosasa’s Gavin Watson. This Read more >
LEGISLATION AND SUBMISSIONS
Today the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) handed down judgment in the political party funding-related matter of My Vote Counts (MVC) vs the president of South Africa, the minister of justice, and others. The court ruled that voters have the right to be informed about the sources of the private funding of political parties. In delivering today’s Read more >
RAISING AWARENESS
South Africa’s Information Regulator (IR) was established in 2016, as a provision of the Protection of Personal Information Act, or Popi. The IR came into being before Popi was in force, but sections pertaining to the entity were put into effect through a presidential proclamation in April 2014. Popi was signed into law in November Read more >
CORRUPTION NEWS
In November last year we reported on the establishment of the Office of the Information Regulator. This body falls under the Protection of Personal Information (Popi) Act, which serves as South Africa’s data protection act. Popi itself is not yet in force, but sections pertaining to the Regulator were put into effect through a presidential Read more >
CORRUPTION NEWS
New research by the Access to Information Network (ATI Network) – formerly known as the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia) Civil Society Network – has revealed a shocking dereliction of duties by public and private bodies to realise South Africans’ constitutional right of access to information. The Shadow Report 2016 was compiled with Read more >
CORRUPTION NEWS
My Vote Counts (MVC) has embarked on the next step in its fight for transparency in political party funding in South Africa. The organisation is advocating for complete transparency and reform of the funding of all political parties, making it mandatory for all parties to disclose where their money is coming from, thereby giving all citizens the chance to Read more >
