PAIA manual
Prepared in terms of section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000, as amended, for @fnet Projects (Pty) Ltd.
1. About this manual
The Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA) gives everyone the right to request access to records held by a private body where the record is needed to exercise or protect a right. This manual explains which records @fnet Projects (Pty) Ltd holds, how to ask for them and how we process personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).
@fnet Projects (Pty) Ltd is a private company incorporated in South Africa in 2017, trading as @fnet Projects, @fnet Systems and @fnet Consulting. It provides electrical and electronic installation and maintenance, IT systems and support, and business consulting services.
2. Contact details
Requests and questions about this manual go to our Information Officer, whose details are shown on this page together with our company details.
3. The Information Regulator’s guide
The Information Regulator has published a guide on how to use PAIA, in each official language. It explains the rights PAIA gives you and how to exercise them. You can get it from:
- the Information Regulator’s website: inforegulator.org.za
- the Information Regulator: JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001; email enquiries@inforegulator.org.za
- our office, where a copy is available for inspection during office hours
4. Records available without a request
The following are available without a formal request:
- the content of this website, including our services, privacy notice and cookie policy
- this PAIA manual
- marketing material and brochures that we publish
5. Records kept in terms of other laws
We keep records as required by the following laws, where they apply to our business:
- Companies Act 71 of 2008
- Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 and Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011
- Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991
- Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997
- Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995
- Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998
- Skills Development Act 97 of 1998 and Skills Development Levies Act 9 of 1999
- Unemployment Insurance Act 63 of 2001
- Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993
- Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 and its regulations, including the Electrical Installation Regulations
- Construction Industry Development Board Act 38 of 2000
- Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003
- Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008
- Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002
- Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013
Some records under these laws may be available only to the people or authorities those laws name.
6. Records we hold
The categories below describe the records we hold. Listing a category does not mean access will be granted: every request is considered under the grounds set out in PAIA.
Company records: incorporation documents and Memorandum of Incorporation, share register, minutes and resolutions, statutory returns.
Financial and tax records: annual financial statements, accounting records, tax and VAT returns, banking records, asset registers.
Employment records: employment contracts, personnel files, payroll and leave records, training and qualification records, employment equity and skills development records, disciplinary records.
Client records: enquiries and quotes, contracts, project files, drawings, test results and certificates, site reports, correspondence and invoices.
Supplier and subcontractor records: contracts, orders, invoices, compliance and B-BBEE documents, correspondence.
Health and safety records: appointments, risk assessments, method statements, incident registers and inspection records.
Registrations and licences: industry registrations, accreditations, B-BBEE certificates and insurance records.
Information technology records: system and security logs, licences, IT policies and website records, including request form submissions and consent records.
7. How we process personal information
Purposes: to respond to enquiries and prepare quotes; to deliver, support and invoice our services; to manage employment; to manage suppliers and subcontractors; to keep our systems secure; to comply with the law; and, with consent, to measure how our website is used.
Categories of people and information:
- Clients and prospective clients: names, contact details, company details, site addresses, project information, correspondence.
- Website visitors: request form details, consent records, technical and security information, and analytics information if analytics cookies are accepted.
- Employees and job applicants: identity and contact details, identity numbers, qualifications and work history, bank and tax details, payroll information, and health or criminal record information only where the law requires or allows it.
- Suppliers and subcontractors: company and contact details, bank and tax details, compliance documents.
Recipients: our staff on a need-to-know basis; operators such as our hosting, email, IT, spam protection and analytics providers; subcontractors on a project; banks, insurers, auditors and professional advisers; and authorities such as the South African Revenue Service and the Department of Employment and Labour, where the law requires.
Information sent outside South Africa: some cloud service providers we use store or process information outside South Africa. We use providers that give personal information protection substantially similar to POPIA, as section 72 of POPIA requires.
Security measures: access controls and multi-factor sign-in, encrypted connections, backups, confidentiality obligations for staff and operators, written operator agreements, and a process for handling security incidents.
8. How to request access to a record
- Complete the prescribed request form (Form 2 of the PAIA Regulations, 2021), available from the Information Regulator’s website or from our Information Officer.
- Send it to our Information Officer by email, post or hand delivery, using the contact details on this page.
- Give enough detail for us to identify the record, say how you would like access (for example a copy or an inspection), and explain which right you need the record to exercise or protect.
- If you are asking on behalf of someone else, include proof of the capacity in which you are acting.
- Pay the request fee and any access fee prescribed in the PAIA Regulations. We will tell you if a fee or deposit applies before we process the request.
We will decide on your request within 30 days of receiving it. We may extend this once by up to 30 days in the circumstances PAIA allows, and will tell you if we do. If we do not respond in time, the request is regarded as refused.
Your own personal information: to request a copy of personal information we hold about you, use the process above. To ask us to correct or delete it, use Form 2 of the POPIA Regulations, 2018. To object to processing, use Form 1 of the POPIA Regulations, 2018. Both forms are available from the Information Regulator or our Information Officer.
9. Grounds for refusal
We may or must refuse access on the grounds set out in Chapter 4 of Part 3 of PAIA, including to protect:
- the privacy of a third party who is a natural person
- commercial information of a third party or of @fnet
- information supplied in confidence
- the safety of individuals and the security of property
- records privileged from production in legal proceedings
- research information of a third party or of @fnet
Where only part of a record must be withheld, we will give access to the rest.
10. If your request is refused
If you are not satisfied with our decision, you may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator within 180 days of the decision, or apply to a court for relief within the time PAIA allows.
- Website: inforegulator.org.za
- PAIA complaints: PAIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za
- Address: JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001
11. Availability and updates
This manual is available on our website and at our office for inspection free of charge. A copy can be provided on request for the prescribed fee. We review the manual regularly and update it when our records or processing change. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last updated.