www.smoolink.co.za  
info@smoolink.co.za  
+27 11 568 3734  
POPIA AND PAIA MANUAL  
Prepared in terms of section 51 of the  
Promotion of Access to Information Act 2  
of 2000 (as amended), and to address  
requirements of the Protection Of Personal  
Information Act 2013  
This manual applies to  
SmooLink Forwarding (Pty) Ltd.  
Registration number: 2023 / 270638 / 07  
DATE OF COMPILATION: 01/10/2021  
DATE OF REVISION: 01/10/2021  
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1. BACKGROUND  
The Promotion of Access to Information Act, No. 2of 2000 (the “Act) was enacted on 3  
February 2000, giving effect to the constitutional right in terms of section 32 of the Bill  
of Rights contained in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 108 of 1996 (the  
“Constitution”) of access to any information held by the state and any information that  
is held by another person and that is required for the exercise or protection of any  
rights. In terms of section 51 of the Act, all Private Bodies are required to compile an  
Information Manual (“PAIA Manual”).  
The Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (Act No. 4 of 2013) (the POPIA),  
provides for eight protection principles that companies must comply with to protect the  
Personal Information of all Data Subjects. Companies must implement a manual that  
must comply with section 14 and 51 of PAIA and is required to make it available to  
persons who want access to the companies’ Personal Information.  
Where a request is made in terms of the Act, the body to whom the request is made is  
obliged to release the information, subject to applicable legislative and / or regulatory  
requirements, except where the Act expressly provides that the information may be  
adopted when requesting information from a public or private body.  
2. THE PURPOSE OF THE POPIA IS TO -  
(a) give effect to the constitutional right to privacy, by safeguarding personal  
information when processed by a responsible party, subject to justifiable limitations  
that are aimed at—  
(i) balancing the right to privacy against other rights, particularly the right of access  
to information; and  
(ii) protecting important interests, including the free flow of information within the  
Republic and across international borders;  
(b) regulate the manner in which personal information may be processed, by  
establishing conditions, in harmony with international standards, that prescribe the  
minimum threshold requirements for the lawful processing of personal information;  
(c) provide persons with rights and remedies to protect their personal information  
from processing that is not in accordance with the POPIA; and  
(d) establish voluntary and compulsory measures, including the establishment of an  
Information Regulator, to ensure respect for and to promote, enforce and fulfil the  
rights protected by the POPIA.  
The POPIA and the PAIA hold a special relationship. Both can be seen as "information"  
laws, and are each on one end of a continuum. On the one end, PAIA is an "Access" law,  
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all about Freedom of Information. POPIA on the other end, is about Privacy - prevention  
of exposure of information. They should not be seen as competing, rather, both are  
there to help ensure that information is managed correctly. The requirements to  
access records as set out in PAIA remains in place.  
3. THE PURPOSE OF THE PAIA MANUAL  
The purpose of PAIA is to promote the right of access to information, to foster a culture  
of transparency and accountability within SmooLink Forwarding (Pty) Ltd by giving the  
right to information that is required for the exercise or protection of any right and to  
actively promote a society in which the people of South Africa have effective access to  
information to enable them to exercise and protect their rights.  
In order to promote effective governance of private bodies, it is necessary to ensure  
that everyone is empowered and educated to understand their rights in relation to  
public and private bodies. Section 9 of the Act recognizes that the right to access  
information cannot be unlimited and should be subject to justifiable limitations,  
including, but not limited to:  
(a) Limitations aimed at the reasonable protection of privacy;  
(b) Commercial confidentiality; and  
(c) Effective, efficient and good governance;  
and in a manner which balances that right with any other rights, including such rights  
contained in the Bill of Rights in the Constitution.  
This PAIA Manual complies with the requirements of guide mentioned in section 10 of  
the Act and recognizes that upon commencement of the Protection of Personal  
Information Act 4 of 2013, that the appointed Information Regulator will be responsible  
to regulate compliance with the Act and its regulations by private and public bodies.  
4. AVAILABILITY OF THE MANUAL  
A copy of the Manual is made available in terms of section 4 of the POPIA regulation, on  
the website, https://smoolink.co.za/ and at SmooLink Forwarding (Pty) Ltd’s office,  
situated at 10240 Extension 7B, Orange Farm 1841, Johannesburg, for public inspection  
during normal business hours, and copies can be made to any person upon request and  
upon the payment of a reasonable prescribed fee; and to the Information Regulator upon  
request. A fee for a copy of the Manual, as contemplated in annexure B of the  
Regulations, shall be payable per each A4-size photocopy made.  
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5. ABOUT THE COMPANY  
SmooLink Forwarding (Pty) Ltd, with registration number: 2023 / 270638 / 07, is a  
privately owned B-BBEE Level 1 Import and Export Freight Forwarding and Customs  
Clearing Business, offering General Cargo Shipping solutions, comprehensively from  
door to door and itemized options, tailored to your unique requirements, such as:  
Customs clearance only or haulage service from port to door, or vice versa. We handle  
shipments of any size; to and from anywhere in the world, by Sea; Air; Road, including  
National and Direct Cross-Border Import and Export haulage; Rail Freight and manage  
all Customs Clearing Formalities.  
6. COMPANY CONTACT DETAILS [PAIA Section 51(1)(a)]  
Operations Controller:  
Registered Address:  
Thato Shoto  
10240 Extension 7B, Orange Farm  
1841, Johannesburg.  
As above  
+27 11 568 3734  
https://smoolink.co.za  
Postal Address:  
Telephone Number:  
Website:  
Contact Details of the Information Officer  
Thato Shoto  
Email: thato@smoolink.co.za  
7. SOUTH AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION [PAIA Section 51(1)(b)]  
The ACT grants a requester access to records of a private body, if the record is  
required for the exercise or protection of any rights. If a public body lodges a request,  
the public body must be acting in the public interest.  
Requests in terms of the ACT shall be made in accordance with the prescribed  
procedures, at the rates provided. The forms and tariff are dealt with in paragraphs 6  
and 7 of the Act.  
Requesters are referred to the Guide in terms of Section 10 which has been compiled  
by the South African Human Rights Commission, which will contain information for the  
purposes of exercising Constitutional Rights. The Guide is available from the SAHRC.  
The contact details of the Commission are:  
The South African Human Rights Commission  
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Physical Address:  
PAIA Unit  
29 Princess of Wales Terrace  
Cnr York and Andrew Streets  
Parktown  
Postal Address:  
Telephone Number:  
E-Mail:  
Private Bag 2700, Houghton 2041  
+27 11 877 3600  
PAIA@sahrc.org.za  
Web Site:  
www.sahrc.org.za  
8. PUBLICATION AND AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION AND RECORDS  
8.1 Records Available without a Request to Access in terms of the Act  
Records of a public nature, typically those disclosed on the SmooLink Forwarding (Pty)  
Ltd’s website, may be accessed without the need to submit a formal application. Other  
non-confidential records, such as statutory records maintained at CIPC, may also be  
accessed without the need to submit a formal application, however, please note that an  
appointment to view such records will have to be made with the Information Officer.  
8.2 Where applicable to its operations, SmooLink Forwarding (Pty) Ltd also retains records  
and documents in terms of below legislation. Unless disclosure is prohibited in terms of  
legislation, regulations, contractual agreement or otherwise, records that are required  
to be made available in terms of these acts shall be made available for inspection by  
interested parties in terms of the requirements and conditions of the Act; the below  
mentioned legislation and applicable internal policies and procedures, should such  
interested parties be entitled to such information. A request to access must be done in  
accordance with the prescriptions of the Act.  
Legislations applicable to SmooLink Forwarding (Pty) Ltd:  
(a) Basic Conditions of Employment Act, No 75 of 1997;  
(b) Broad- Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, No 75 of 1997;  
(c) Companies Act, No 71 of 2008;  
(d) Copyright Act, No 98 of 1978;  
(e) Customs & Excise Act, 91 of 1964;  
(f) Electronic Communications Act, No 36 of 2005;  
(g) Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, No 25 of 2002;  
(h) Employment Equity Act, No 55 of 1998;  
(i) Identification Act, No. 68 of 1997;  
(j) Income Tax Act, No 58 of 1962;  
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(k) Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Act, No 38 of 1997;  
(l) Labour Relations Act, No 66 of 1995;  
(m)Promotion of Access to Information Act, No 2 of 2000;  
(n) Protection of Personal Information Act, No. 4 of 2013;  
[Note: although SmooLink Forwarding (Pty) Ltd used its best endeavors to provide a  
list of the latest applicable legislation, the list may be incomplete or outdated, due to  
changes in legislation. Kindly consult with the information officer concerning the  
applicability of any legislation, or if you believe that a right of access to a record exists  
in terms of other legislation listed above or any other legislation, the Requester must  
indicate what legislative right the request is based on, to allow the Information Officer  
the opportunity of considering the request in light thereof.]  
8.3 Records held by SmooLink Forwarding (Pty) Ltd [(PAIA Section 51 (1)(d)]  
Records may be available in three ways, namely: (a) Freely if publicly available, like -  
information and records available on https://smoolink.co.za (b) Made available but  
subject to copyright, or (c) Made available but subject to limited disclosure. A person  
may only request information from SmooLink Forwarding (Pty) Ltd as a private body if  
the requested information is required for the exercise or protection of a right. Note that  
the accessibility of the records may be subject to the grounds of refusal set out in this  
PAIA manual. Amongst other, records deemed confidential on the part of a third party,  
will necessitate permission from the third party concerned, in addition to normal  
requirements, before SmooLink Forwarding (Pty) Ltd will consider access.  
Categories of information that SmooLink Forwarding (Pty) Ltd holds:  
Subject  
Personnel Records  
Category  
Employment Records  
Availability  
May not be disclosed to the  
Disciplinary Code and Records; public. Limited disclosure to  
Performance Appraisals  
Training records  
employees for own  
employment records  
Staff agreements.  
Public Affairs  
Public Company Information  
Website information  
Public policies and manuals  
Articles  
Freely available on website  
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Companies Act Records  
Statutory Company Records  
Shareholder agreements and  
certificates  
May not be disclosed  
Corporate structure and  
associations  
Document of incorporation  
Business agreements  
Intellectual property  
Statutory returns  
Company policy and manuals  
Financial Records  
Income Tax Records  
Operations  
Accounting Records;  
Annual Financial Statements  
Asset Registers;  
Bank Statements;  
Banking details and bank  
accounts;  
Debtors / Creditors statements  
and invoices; Tax Records  
PAYE Records;  
Records of payments made to  
SARS on behalf of employees;  
All other statutory  
May not be disclosed  
May not be disclosed  
May not be disclosed  
compliances:  
VAT  
Skills Development Levies  
Workmen’s Compensation  
Standard Terms and Conditions  
for supply of services;  
Client and supplier  
agreements;  
Lists of suppliers, services and  
Policies and Procedures.  
Client database;  
Correspondences with clients;  
Fees structure;  
FICA documents;  
Sales performance records.  
IT services agreements;  
IT systems and facilities;  
Software licensing;  
Information Technology  
May not be disclosed  
IT record keeping;  
Back-up and restore records  
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9. REQUESTS TO ACCESS INFORMATION AND RECORDS [PAIA Section 51(1)(e)]  
9.1. The requester must comply with all the procedural requirements contained in the Act  
relating to the request for access to a record. The requester must complete the  
prescribed form enclosed herewith, and submit same as well as payment of a request  
fee and a deposit (if applicable) to the Information Officer at the postal address, or  
electronic mail address as noted in clause 7 above. The prescribed from must be filled  
in with sufficient information to enable the Information Officer to identify: (a) the  
record or records requested; and (b) the identity of the requester.  
9.2. The requester should indicate which form of access is required and specify a postal  
address or fax number of the requester in the Republic; The requester must state that  
he/she requires the information in order to exercise or protect a right, and clearly  
state what the nature of the right is, in order to be exercised or protected. The  
requester must clearly specify why the record is necessary to exercise or protect  
such a right [PAIA Section 53(2)(d)]  
9.3. SmooLink Forwarding (Pty) Ltd will process the request within 30 (thirty) days, unless  
the requester has stated special reasons to the satisfaction of the Information Officer  
that circumstances dictate that the above time periods not be complied with. The  
requester shall be advised whether access is granted or denied in writing. If, in  
addition, the requester requires the reasons for the decision in any other manner, the  
requester will be obliged to state which manner and the particulars required. If a  
request is made on behalf of another person, then the requester must submit proof of  
the capacity in which the requester is making the request to the reasonable  
satisfaction of the Information Officer [PAIA Section 53(2)(f)].  
9.4. If an individual is unable to complete the prescribed form because of illiteracy or  
disability, such a person may make the request orally. The requester must pay the  
prescribed fee, before any further processing can take place. All information as listed  
in this clause should be provided and failing which the process will be delayed until  
the required information is provided. The prescribed time periods will not commence  
until the requester has furnished all the necessary and required information. The  
Information Officer shall sever a record, if possible, and grant only access to that  
portion requested and which is not prohibited from being disclosed.  
10. ACCESS TO RECORDS HELD BY SMOOLINK FORWARDING (Pty) LTD  
Prerequisites for Access by Personal/Other Requester:  
Records held by SmooLink Forwarding (Pty) Ltd may be accessed by requests only once  
the prerequisite requirements for access have been met. There are two types of  
requesters: (a) Personal Requester and (b) Other Requester  
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(a) A personal requester is a requester who is seeking access to a record containing  
personal information about own self. SmooLink Forwarding (Pty) Ltd will  
voluntarily provide the requested information, or give access to any record with  
regard to the requester's personal information. The prescribed fee for reproduction  
of the information requested will be applicable.  
(b) Other Requester is any other person, rather than a personal requester, that is  
entitled to request access to information on third parties. In considering such a  
request, SmooLink Forwarding (Pty) Ltd will adhere to the provisions of the Act.  
Section 71 requires that the Information Officer take all reasonable steps to inform  
a third party to whom the requested record relates of the request, informing  
him/her that he/she may make a written or oral representation to the Information  
Officer why the request should be refused or, where required, give written consent  
for the disclosure of the Information.  
SmooLink Forwarding (Pty) Ltd is not obliged to voluntarily grant access to such records.  
The requester must fulfil the prerequisite requirements, in accordance with the  
requirements of the Act and as stipulated in Chapter 5; Part 3, including the payment of a  
request and access fee.  
11. FEES PAYABLE [PAIA Section 51 (1)(f)]  
The Act provides for two types of fees, namely: (a) A request fee, which is a form of  
administration fee to be paid by all requesters except personal requesters, before the  
request is considered and is not refundable; and (b) An access fee, which is paid by all  
requesters in the event that a request for access is granted. This fee is inclusive of costs  
involved by the private body in obtaining and preparing a record for delivery to the  
requester.  
When the request is received by the Information Officer, such officer shall by notice  
require the requester, other than a personal requester, to pay the prescribed request fee,  
before further processing of the request [PAIA Section 54(1)].  
If the search for the record has been made and the preparation of the record for  
disclosure, including arrangement to make it available in the requested form, requires  
more than the hours prescribed in the regulations for this purpose, the Information Officer  
shall notify the requester to pay as a deposit the prescribed portion of the access fee  
which would be payable if the request is granted. The Information Officer shall withhold a  
record until the requester has paid the fees as indicated below.  
A requester whose request for access to a record has been granted, must pay an access  
fee that is calculated to include, where applicable, the request fee, the process fee for  
reproduction and for search and preparation, and for any time reasonably required in  
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excess of the prescribed hours to search for and prepare the record for disclosure  
including making arrangements to make it available in the request form.  
LIST OF FEES PAYABLE:  
GENERAL  
An upfront Request Fee before a request will be processed in terms of  
Regulation 11(2)  
R50,00  
Fees for the manual as contemplated in Regulation 9(2)(c) payable for every R1,10  
photocopy of an A4-size page or part thereof.  
Reproduction of Information Fees, referred to in Regulation 11(1)  
Information in an A-4 size page photocopy or part thereof  
A printed copy of an A4-size page or part thereof  
A copy in computer-readable form on:  
Stiffy disc  
R l,10  
R 0,75  
R7,50  
Compact disc  
R 70,00  
R 40,00  
R 60,00  
R 20,00  
R 30,00  
A transcription of visual images, in an A4-size page or part thereof  
A copy of visual images  
A transcription of an audio record for an A4-size page or part thereof  
A copy of an audio record  
Access of Information Fees referred to in Regulation 11(3)  
Information in an A-4 size page photocopy or part thereof  
A printed copy of an A4-size page or part thereof  
A copy in computer-readable format, for example:  
Stiffy disc  
R 1,10  
R 0,75  
R 7,50  
Compact disc  
R 70,00  
R 40,00  
R 60,00  
R 20,00  
R 30,00  
A transcription of visual images, in an A4-size page or part thereof  
A copy of visual images  
A transcription of an audio record for an A4-size page or part thereof  
A copy of an audio record  
To search for and prepare the record for disclosure, the fee for each hour or R30,00  
part of an hour required for such search and preparation.  
For purposes of section 54(2), the following applies:  
6 hours as the hours to be exceeded before a deposit is payable  
1/3rd of the access fee is payable as a deposit by the requester  
Actual postal fee is payable, where a copy of a record must be posted to the Requester.  
12. REFUSAL OF ACCESS TO RECORDS  
Chapter 4 of PAIA provides for several grounds on which a request for access to personal  
information must be refused.  
a.  
Grounds for refusal of request includes the following:  
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