Access to information
PAIA manual
The records Mandate SA holds, which are public already, and how to request the rest.
Status of this manual
This manual describes the records Mandate SA holds and how to request them. It was adopted by Mandate SA (Pty) Ltd on 19 October 2026 and is in effect from that date.
1. About this manual
The Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA, Act 2 of 2000) gives everyone a right to request records held by public and private bodies, subject to grounds of refusal that protect, among other things, other people’s privacy and commercial information. Section 51 requires a private body to publish a manual describing the records it holds and how to request them. Mandate SA is operated by Mandate SA (Pty) Ltd, a private body under PAIA.
Most of what Mandate SA holds is already public on this website, with its sources, and needs no request.
2. The private body and how to contact it
- Organisation
- Mandate SA (Pty) Ltd
- Postal and street address
- 196 Oxford RoadIllovoSandtonGauteng2196
- Privacy, PAIA and legal
- Information Officer, Mandate SA (Pty) Ltd: legal@mandatesa.com
- Corrections and complaints
- editorial@mandatesa.com
- Data and research queries
- research@mandatesa.com
- General enquiries
- info@mandatesa.com
- Partnerships and investors
- partnerships@mandatesa.com
Send requests for records and privacy requests to the Information Officer, Mandate SA (Pty) Ltd, at legal@mandatesa.com, with the subject line “PAIA request” or “Privacy request”.
3. Information Officer
The head of a private body is its Information Officer and may designate Deputy Information Officers, who must be registered with the Information Regulator. Requests to Mandate SA’s Information Officer go to the Information Officer, Mandate SA (Pty) Ltd, at legal@mandatesa.com.
4. The Information Regulator's guide
The Information Regulator has published a guide on how to use PAIA and POPIA (section 10 of PAIA). It is available from the Information Regulator, including on inforegulator.org.za.
5. Records available without a request
Everything published on this website is available without a request (section 52), including:
- election results, boundaries, parties, representatives and public money, each with its source (sources and licences);
- published fact checks, analyses and party accountability records, with their corrections (what changed);
- Mandate SA’s methodology, policies and this manual (how we work).
6. Subjects and categories of records held
| Subject | Categories of records | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| The public record | Official election results, boundaries, office-holders, party lists, public-money records, manifestos and their official sources, with fingerprints, publication dates and correction history | Published on this website; no request needed |
| Editorial records | Reviews, editorial decisions and their reasons, fact-check and accountability drafts, evidence and research notes | On request; may be refused or redacted (for example to protect other people's personal information or sources) |
| Submissions | Disputes, additional information, rights of response and profile claims, their files, and sealed contact details | On request; a requester's own submission under POPIA; others are usually protected |
| Accounts | Account holders and members, claims, change requests, messages with editors and saved research | On request; a requester's own account information under POPIA |
| Security and audit | Security events and the tamper-evident change log | On request; may be refused where disclosure would endanger the security of the service |
| Corporate, financial and employment records | Statutory registers, financial statements, tax and employment records | Kept by the company as the law requires; on request, subject to PAIA's grounds of refusal |
7. Records kept under other legislation
As a registered company, Mandate SA (Pty) Ltd keeps records under, among others, the Companies Act 71 of 2008, the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 and the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013.
8. Processing of personal information
As POPIA requires a manual to say, in summary (the privacy policy has the detail):
- Purposes: publishing an accurate record of public power; reviewing submissions and corrections; providing account workspaces and verifying claims; protecting the service.
- Categories of people and information: people in public roles (as official sources state them); people who send submissions (their submission, files and sealed contact details); account holders (e-mail, sign-in and two-step verification data, claims and messages); staff (sign-in, roles and activity).
- Recipients: authorised staff according to their role; service providers — Vercel (hosting of the website and account portal, servers in São Paulo, Brazil), Supabase (database, sign-in and file storage, São Paulo, Brazil), Hostinger (business e-mail) and Cloudflare (the automated-abuse check on forms, where switched on); authorities only where the law requires.
- Transfers outside South Africa: only as POPIA section 72 allows.
- Security measures: described on the security page.
9. How to make a request
- Use the prescribed request form (Form 2 under the PAIA regulations), available from the Information Regulator.
- Send it to the Information Officer, Mandate SA (Pty) Ltd, at legal@mandatesa.com with the subject line “PAIA request”. Describe the records clearly enough to identify them, say in what form you want access, and, if you ask on someone else’s behalf, show your authority to do so.
- Fees, if any, are those prescribed by the PAIA regulations; you will be told of any fee before work starts. A request for your own personal information is not charged a request fee.
- A decision is made within 30 days, which PAIA allows to be extended once by up to 30 days, with notice and reasons.
- Requests for your own personal information can also be made under POPIA section 23; see your privacy rights.
10. Grounds for refusal and third parties
PAIA allows, and sometimes requires, a private body to refuse or redact records: for example to protect another person’s personal information, confidential commercial information, the safety of individuals, or privileged material. Where a request concerns a third party, PAIA’s notice procedures apply. A refusal is given in writing with its reasons.
11. If you disagree with a decision
You may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator, or apply to court, as PAIA provides. The Regulator’s details are on inforegulator.org.za.
12. Availability and updates
This manual is published on this website and is also available in the other ways PAIA requires, on request to the Information Officer, Mandate SA (Pty) Ltd, at legal@mandatesa.com. It is updated whenever the records or the details above change; each version carries its date.