Official reply:12/04/11 (PQ15)
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
QUESTION 143/2011
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
Date of publication on internal question paper: 10 February 2011
Internal question paper no: 1
Mr A M Figlan (DA) to ask the Minister of Social Development:
What (a) statutory provisions, (b) regulations, (c) policy instruments
and (d) practices govern the (i) classification, (ii) protection
against the release or access, (iii) protection for other purposes
such as preservation and (iv) release upon request for access of (aa)
documented information and (bb) undocumented information held by (aaa)
his department or (bbb) any other entities who receive budgetary
transfers from his department? NW155E
REPLY:
Department of Social Development
(aaa)(a)
The Department of Social Development is guided by the following
statutory regulations in terms of classification, protection and
access of departmental information:
Constitution of the Republic of South African (No. 108 of 1996),
section 32 of Constitution entrenches the right to access information.
The section provides that everyone has the right of access to any
information held by the state.
Promotion of Access to Information Act (Act No. 2 of 2000) â the Act
gives effect to section 32 of the Constitution and it provides a
statutory right of access to information held by the state as well as
private bodies.
National Archives and Records Services of South Africa Act (Act No. 43
of 1996) regulates the classification, protection, preservation, and
disposal of information held by the department.
Protection of Information Act (Act No. 84 of 1982) â the Act regulates
the manner in which government protects its information.
(aaa) (b)
The regulations to the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000
regulate the procedure that must be adopted to enable the citizens to
access records of the Department.
The regulation of the National Archives and Records Services of South
Africa Act regulate access, use and transfer of public records.
(aaa) (c)
The Department has the following policy instruments that guide the
classification, protection, preservation, use, ownership, access and
disposal of records. These policies adhere to the requirements of the
Minimum Information Security Standards (MISS) document.
Records Management Policy
Policy on Information Ownership and Custodianship
Policy on the Use of Information
(aaa) (d)
The Department has developed and is implementing the following
practices to govern the classification, protection, and access of
information:
Promotion of Access to Information Act Manual â the manual gives
details on how to request access to information and a description of
the categories of information.
Registry Procedure Manual â the manual gives guidelines on the
classification, filing, preservation and disposal of records held by
the department.
(aaa) (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (aa), (bb)
The above mentioned legislations, regulations and policies are all
geared towards governing the classification, protection against
release or access, protection for other purposes such as preservation
and release upon request for access of documented and undocumented
information held by the Department of Social Development.
South African Social Security Agency (SASSA)
(bbb) (a) (i)
Section 13(2)(b)(i) of the National Archives and Records and Service
of South Africa Act, 1996, empowers the National Archivist to
determine the records classification systems to be applied by the
governmental bodies.
(bbb) (a)(ii)
The SASSA is guided by the South African Social Security Agency Act,
2004 (Act No. 9 of 2004) and the Promotion of Access to Information
Act, 2000 (Act No. 2 of 2000) when handling matters related to the
protection of the information that it manages. Section 16 of the SASSA
Act specifically deals with the security of confidential information
held by the Agency.
Section 16 of the SASSA Act states that no person may disclose any
information submitted in connection with any application or
instruction for or in respect of a grant, payment, benefit or
assistance made available by the Agency, unless he or she is ordered
to do so by a court of law or unless the applicant or social grant
beneficiary gives written consent.
Heads of Section of governmental bodies are required in terms of
section 13(1) of the National Archives and Records Service of South
Africa Act, 1996) to comply with the conditions suitable for the
effective storage of all types of records. One of the requirements
stipulated in the National Archives and Records Service of South
Africaâs Records Management Policy Manual (October 2007) is the
establishment of secure Registries.
(bbb) (a) (iii)
The National Archives and Records Service of South Africaâs Records
Management Policy Manual (October 2007) emphasizes the importance of
storing records in areas where they are effectively protected against
fire, flooding and any other condition that can compromise their
preservation for as long as they are needed.
(bbb) (a) (iv)
Section 16 of the SASSA Act prohibits SASSA officials from disclosing
any information submitted in connection with any application or
instruction for or in respect of a grant, payment, benefit or
assistance made available by the Agency, unless they are ordered to do
so by a court of law or unless the applicant or social grant
beneficiary gives written consent.
(bbb) (b) (i)
Section 1 of the Minimum Information Security Standards (MISS)
document prescribes the process to be followed with regards to the
classification and reclassification of documents.
(bbb) (b) (ii)
Section 2 of the MISS document also provides for general rules and
prescriptions as to who may have access to or inspect classified
documents. For example, sub-section 2.2 requires that a suitable
clearance be issued first for any person who has to access classified
document in the execution of their duties.
(bbb) (b) (iii)
The MISS document in section 10 provides for proper controls over
access to and effective control over movement within any building or
part of a building in which classified information is handled. It
further requires that classified documents that are not in immediate
use must be locked away in a safe storage.
(bbb) (b) (iv)
Chapter 2 of the Regulations to the Promotion of Access to Information
Act, 2000 regulates the procedure that must be adopted to enable a
person to access records from a public and/ or private body, which
includes SASSA.
(bbb) (c) (i)
The SASSA has the Records Management Policy, and the Security Policy
that guide the classification, filing, management, use and disposal of
records. These policies adhere to the requirements of the Minimum
Information Security Standards and the National Archives and Record
Service of South Africa Act, 1996 (Act 43 of 1996).
(bbb) (c) (ii)
Section 6 of SASSAâs Security Policy prescribes strict access control
to registries where classified documents are kept and does not under
circumstances allow for classified documents to be left unattended in
offices, homes and vehicles of SASSA officials.
(bbb) (c) (iii)
Section 6 of SASSAâs Security Policy also prescribes that all
classified documents not in immediate use must be locked away in the
approariate cabinet, safe or strong room as prescribed in the MISS
document.
SASSAâs Risk Management Tool for Records obliges SASSA to document all
records related risks and proactively develop measures to minimize the
risks and reactive measures for the affected records.
Section 8 of the SASSA Records Management Policy also makes provision
for the establishment of Central Registries and Sub-registries in Head
Office and regions in order to ensure central control of records and
that only authorised officials manage the filing process.
(bbb) (c) (iv)
Section 6 of SASSAâs Security Policy provides for the application of
âneed to knowâ principle in respect of all classified information
within SASSA to ensure that only authorized persons gain access to
such information.
(bbb) (d) (i)
SASSAâs file plan in line with section 13(1) of the National Archives
and Records Service of South Africa Act, 1996 and section 1 of the
MISS document provide a guide on how, in general, to facilitate the
classification of information.
(bbb) (d) (ii)
SASSA Registry Procedure Manual governs effective control of the
movement of files by managing access to the records within SASSA.
(bbb) (d) (iii)
The National Archivist has issued SASSA with a General Disposal
Authority no. AC1 of 2009 which specifies the conditions under which
SASSAâs records can be disposed. SASSA has developed retention periods
for different types of records to ensure that relevant records are
preserved accordingly.
(bbb) (d) (iv)
SASSA has developed a PAIA manual, in terms of section 14 of the
Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act No. 2 of 2000), that
contains details on how to facilitate a request for access to records
that are held by SASSA. In line with chapter 2 of the PAIA
regulations, SASSAâs PAIA manual contains detailed information about
the types of records that SASSA keeps, records that are automatically
available to the public and the procedure to obtain access to records
that are not automatically available. All requests for access to
protected information are done through the Chief Information Officer
to ensure one central point for request and provision of information.
National Development Agency (NDA)
(bbb) (a)
The provision of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act
No. 2 of 2000) governs the classification, protection against the
release or access, protection for other purpose such as preservation,
release upon request for access of documented information and
undocumented information held by the NDA.
(bbb) (b)
The regulations on the Promotions of Access to Information Act, 2000
(Act No. 2 of 2000) govern the classification, protection against the
release or access, protection for other purpose such as preservation,
release upon request for access of documented information and
undocumented information held by the NDA.
(bbb) (c)
The following policy instruments govern the classification, protection
against the release or access, protection for other purpose such as
preservation, release upon request for access of documented
information and undocumented information held by the NDA:
i) NDA Confidentiality Policy
ii) NDA Access to Information Manual issued in terms of section
14 of the Promotions of Access to Information Act.
iii) The NDA Records Management Policy
(bbb) (d)
The directives and resolutions by the NDA Board and the Executive
Committee govern the classification, protection against the release or
access, protection for other purposes such as preservation, release
upon request for access of documented information and undocumented
information held by the NDA.
(bbb) (aa)
The Act and the regulations on the Promotions of Access to Information
Act, the Confidentiality Policy, the Access to Information Manual, the
Records Management Policy govern the release upon request for access
to documented information.
(bbb) (bb)
The directive of the NDA Board and the Chief Executive Officer governs
the release upon request of undocumented information.