THE PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION ACT
Our undertaking and duty to you
In terms of the Protection of Personal lnformation Act (POPI) we are required to give effect to your constitutional right to privacy, which entails the protection of your personal information and we are further required to only use your personal information for legitimate purposes in order to give effect to your mandate to us.
This letter serves to inform you briefly of the processes we follow in terms of complying with the POPI Act. Should you require more detailed information, you are welcome to request a copy of our internal POPI Compliance Policy.
KINDLY TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING: –
1. We mainly collect the personal information we require in order to fulfil our mandate directly from yourself. In exceptional circumstances we may collect such information from public records.
2. We might be requested to disclose your personal information to public entities or other third parties who require same in order to carry out their duties which are connected to the work we have to do on your behalf.
3. Kindly take note that we may only disclose so much of your personal information as is reasonably required for the specific purpose and by the relevant authority who requests it. Please also note that all our staff members who are exposed to your personal information are contractually bound to confidentiality clauses for your protection.
4. In the event that we are required to disclose your personal information to a third party in a foreign country, we may only do so where such country contains similar protection measures, or legislation pertaining to the protection of personal information and you have the right to enquire from us what measures will be taken towards the protection of your personal information.
5. In terms of current legislation, you have the right of access to any personal information we might retain regarding you and you are further entitled to request that we correct any errors or inaccuracies contained therein. You may further object to us processing your personal information and where prior consent had been given, to withdraw such consent. Kindly bear in mind, however, that such objection or withdrawal of consent may prevent us from complying with our mandate and you are requested to consider any contractual obligations and implications before taking any such action.
6. We are legally required to retain certain records of information for specified periods of time after fulfilling our mandate to you and we confirm that your personal information will continue to be protected for the duration that we are obliged to retain same. We further confirm that all records of your personal information will be deleted and/or destroyed upon expiry of the period we are compelled to retain it by law.
7. In terms of the security measures we have taken to protect your personal information, kindly take note of the following:
- Our staff members have been properly instructed in terms of POPI requirements.
- Personal information is stored electronically and is backed up regularly and saved on a database to which only authorized personnel have access.
- All user terminals, laptops or other devices on which personal information is processed or stored are password protected and all systems use internationally recognized firewalls to protect data.
- Staff members are prohibited from leaving electronic records containing personal information unattended and are required to switch off terminals, or lock away computer systems, or laptops when not at their workstations for any length of time.
- All security safeguards are verified and/or updated on a regular basis.
The above are only some of the security measures we have in place for the protection of your personal information and is not an exhaustive list. Kindly note that you have the right to lodge a complaint with the lnformation Regulator in the event that you are not satisfied with the manner in which we process or protect your personal information.
The details for the lnformation Regulator appointed in terms of the POPI Act are as follows:
33 Hoofd Street
Forum Ill, 3rd Floor Braampark
P. O Box 31533
Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2017
Complaints email: complaints.IR@justice.gov.za
General enquiries email: inforeg@justice.gov.za.