Statutory Provisions, Regulations, Policy Instruments and Practices regarding the classification, protection against the release or access, protection, preservation, and the release upon request for access to documented information and undocumented information held by the Department or any other entities who receive Budgetary Transfers from the Department

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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO: 133

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO: 1 OF 10 FEBRUARY 2011

Mr JRB Lorimer (DA) to ask the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation:

What (a) statutory provisions, (b) regulations. (c) policy instruments and (d) practices govern the (i) classification, (ii) protection against the release or access, (iii) protection for other purposes such as preservation and (iv) release upon request for access or (aa) documented information and (bb) undocumented information held by (aaa) her department or (bbb) any other entities who receive budgetary transfers from her department?
 
REPLY:

As part of the South African Public Service, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) adheres to the legislative provisions, regulations, policy instruments and practices applicable to government departments in respect to the classification, protection, archiving and access to information held by it.  These include amongst others, the provisions of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, Act 2 of 2000, the Minimum Information Security Standard (MISS), the National Archives and Record Service of South Africa Act, Act 43 of 1996, regulations, policies and good practices adopted in terms thereof for the purpose of classification, protection, archiving and access to information held by departments.

The part of the question relating to information held by “other entities who received budgetary transfers” is unclear, but it is noted that entities such as for example the United Nations, the African Union, SADC, etc, to which membership fees are made from the budget of DIRCO have their own provisions in respect of how they deal with information.

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