{"id":5096,"date":"2017-02-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-23T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amabhungane.org\/amabhungane\/advocacy\/advocacy-report-shows-continued-non-compliance-with-paia\/"},"modified":"2024-10-15T17:40:16","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T17:40:16","slug":"advocacy-report-shows-continued-non-compliance-with-paia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/advocacy-report-shows-continued-non-compliance-with-paia\/","title":{"rendered":"Advocacy: Report shows continued non-compliance with PAIA"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new report released by South Africa\u2019s Access to Information Network notes a concerning level of non-compliance with the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA).<\/p>\n

AmaBhungane is a member of the network, which includes eight civil society organisations.<\/p>\n

The report, which compiles members\u2019s experiences using PAIA during the twelve months to July 2016, notes that only 46% of requests to public bodies were partly or fully complied with.<\/p>\n

For private bodies, the figure was 33%.<\/p>\n

PAIA is a powerful tool in the hands of investigative journalists, and the media in general.<\/p>\n

AmaBhungane has used the law vigorously to build experience and precedent.<\/p>\n

Our past successes have included gaining access to some 12 000 pages <\/a>of information on the upgrades to President Jacob Zuma\u2019s private estate at Nkandla.<\/p>\n

However, the continued low levels of compliance means that realising this right is often a drawn-out process, equally often enforced only through litigation.<\/p>\n

AmaBhungane\u2019s advocacy mandate <\/a>is to help secure the information rights investigative journalists need to do their work.<\/p>\n

Our practice of investigative journalism places us well to identify legislative, policy and practical threats to the information flows that are the lifeblood of our field.<\/p>\n