Arivia.kom uses own PAIApac product to become compliant with access to information act

IT solutions and services provider, arivia.kom, has successfully implemented its PAIApac product within the company to ensure it and its subsidiaries comply with the legal requirements of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) of 2000. In doing this, arivia.kom has ensured its knowledge and expertise in terms of the Act for both public and private bodies.

The Act outlines the constitutional right of access to information of individuals and ensures that persons can obtain access to records that they might require for the exercise or protection of their rights, as swiftly, inexpensively and effortlessly as possible.

Leon Deist, executive: market development for arivia.kom and PAIApac project sponsor and champion, says: "We are proud of the PAIApac product and delighted at the speed with which the implementation was completed. The inclusion of all the major stakeholders from inception, and the support of the top echelons of the organisation, allowed the team to obtain the required legal advice and information about the company in record time. We are satisfied with both the outcome of the project, as well as the professional manner in which the team dealt with the stakeholders."

Arivia.kom`s PAIApac project advisor, Leora Levy, says: "Arivia.kom is regarded in terms of the Act as a private body. Having already successfully completed a PAIApac implementation for Eskom, we used the knowledge and expertise gained there as a foundation. We then ensured we understood the differences in complying as a private body, and applied that knowledge in ensuring arivia.kom`s compliance.

"We ran our project to tight deadlines, and with our meta-level project management, in-depth understanding of the Act and its implications, and specialised processes and applications, we ensured a fast and thorough implementation. The two-month project began with the analysis of the requirements of the Act, of arivia.kom and of the relevant stakeholders. Senior management (including individuals from legal, finance, and corporate communication departments as well as the "information officer" and PAIA officers), who would ultimately be responsible for processing requests, were drawn into the process from the earliest days of the project, this being essential to the success of any project. The manual that must be produced by all public and private bodies describing their company information and access, was completed by the deadline of end of February 2003, while the rest of the project was completed two weeks ahead of schedule in mid-March."

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Levy adds: "Arivia.kom felt that they needed to appoint senior people within the organisation to deal with requests that come through to arivia.kom and to facilitate the processing of those requests timeously. However, this is not specifically allowed for in terms of the Act. In discussing this with the South African Human Rights Commission, we were advised that, although there can be no deputy information officers for private bodies, we could have our own internal arrangements for easing the burden on the information officer in the processing of requests for information. Therefore, arivia.kom decided to appoint a number of what they have termed PAIA officers to act in very much the same way as the deputy information officers that are allowed for public bodies in terms of the Act."

Levy adds: "To ensure compliance to the Act throughout the organisation, arivia.kom tasked the PAIApac implementation team to develop a PAIA directive for the company to communicate the company`s stance on dealing with any requests for information received in terms of the Act."

By mid-March, the arivia.kom PAIApac implementation team had successfully:

* Completed an arivia.kom-specific Promotion of Access to Information Manual as required for private bodies by the Act;
* Established new procedures on how to lodge a request with arivia.kom;
* Compiled standard notice letters to be used to notify requesters of various decisions made in terms of their requests;
* Defined the roles of the PAIA officers;
* Provided letters of delegation for the PAIA officers;
* Completed a PAIA directive for arivia.kom; and
* Assisted with the establishment of Internet pages for Web-based access to the arivia.kom PAIA manual.