VBS MUTUAL BANK
ACCESS TO INFORMATION MANUAL

Prepared in line with:
Section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, No 2 of 2000

• INTRODUCTION

1.1 GENERAL OVERVIEW

THE ACT
The promotion of Access to Information Act, No 2 of 2000 ("the Act") was enacted on 3 February 2000, giving effect to the constitutional right of access to any information held by the State and any information that is held by another person and that is required for the exercise or protection of any rights. Where a request is made in terms of the Act, the body to whom the request is made is obliged to release the information, except where the Act expressly provides that the information may or must not be released. The Act sets out the requisite procedural issues attached to such request.

PURPOSE OF THE MANUAL

This manual is intended to foster a culture of transparency and accountability by giving effect to the right to information that is required for the exercise or protection of any right and to actively promote a society in which the people of South Africa have effective access to information to enable them to more fully exercise and protect their rights.

In order to promote effective governance of private bodies, it is necessary to ensure that everyone is empowered and educated to understand their right in terms of the Act in order for them to exercise their rights in relation to public and private bodies.

Section 9 of the Act however recognises that such right to access to information cannot be unlimited and should be subject to justifiable limitations, including, but not limited to:

• •Limitations aimed at the reasonable protection of privacy;
  
  
• •Commercial confidentiality; and
  
  
• •Effective, efficient and good governance.

This manual sets out to provide a generic manual to deal with requests in a conforming manner, which will enable the requestors to obtain the records which they are entitled to in a quick, easy and accessible manner.

1.2 COMPANY OVERVIEW

VBS Mutual Bank operates in the Limpopo Province of South Africa and conducts the business of banking under Licence No: 1051, as issued by the South African Reserve Bank.

The Bank is governed by the Mutual Bank's Act No. 124 of 1993

Detailed information on the Bank's Vision, Mission and Values as well as Board, Board Committees and Management structures are provided on the Bank's website www.vbsmutualbank.co.za .

Part I

• CONTACT DETAILS AND GENERAL INFORMATION
  

NAME OF BODY: VBS Mutual Bank

POSTAL ADDRESS: P O Box 3618

LOUIS TRICHARDT

0920

PHYSICAL ADDRESS: 25A Erasmus Street

LOUIS TRICHARDT

0920

TELEPHONE NUMBER: (015) 516 3542

FAX NUMBER: (015) 516 3541

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: V N Sandamela

e-mail address: ceo@vbsmutualbank.co.za

INFORMATION OFFICER: C W Vosloo

e-mail address: cwvosloo@vbsmutualbank.co.za

GENERAL E-MAIL: vbsmbank@vbsmutualbank.co.za

WEBSITE: www.vbsmutualbank.co.za

PART II

• GUIDE OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

A guide on how to use the Act is compiled by the Human Rights Commission in terms of Section 10 of the Access to Information Act 2 of 2000. Any queries should be directed to:

The South African Human Rights Commission:

PAIA Unit, The Research and Documentation Department

Postal Address: Private Bag 2700

Houghton

2041

Telephone: +27 11 484-8300

Fax: +27 11 484-0582

Website: www.sahrc.org.za

E-mail: PAIA@sahrc.org.za

Part III

• RECORDS HELD BY VBS MUTUAL BANK

4.1 PERSONAL RECORDS

• •Personal records provided by personnel;
• •Records provided by a third party relating to personnel;
• •Conditions of employment and other personnel-related contractual and quasi-legal records;
• •Internal evaluation records and other internal records;
• •Correspondence relating to personnel;
• •Training schedules and material;

4.2 CUSTOMER RELATED RECORDS

• •Records provided by a customer to a third party acting for or on behalf of the bank in the financial services industry;
• •Records provided by a third party;
• •Records generated by or within the bank; relating to its customers, including transactional records;

4.3 PRIVATE BODY RECORDS

• •Financial records;
• •Operational records;
• •Database;
• •Information Technology;
• •Internal correspondence;
• •Treasury-related records;
• •Records held by officials of the bank;

4.4 OTHER PARTY RECORDS

• •Personnel, customer or private body records which are held by another party, as opposed to the records held by the bank itself;
• •Records held by the bank pertaining to other parties, including without limitation, financial records, correspondence, contractual records, records provided by the other party, and records third parties have provided about the contractors/suppliers.

• RECORDS ARE KEPT IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUCH OTHER LEGISLATION AS IS APPLICABLE TO VBS MUTUAL BANK WHICH INCLUDES BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, THE FOLLOWING LEGISLATION:

• •Companies Act 61 of 1973
• •Income Tax Act 58 of 1962
• •Unemployment Insurance Act 63 of 2001
• •Unemployment contributions Act No 4 of 2002
• •Value Added Tax Act 89 of 1991
• •Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993
• •Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993
• •Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995
• •Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997
• •Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998
• •Skills Development Levies Act 9 of 1999
• •Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001
• •Credit Agreements Act 75 of 1980
• •Regional Service Council Act 109 of 1985
• •Mutual Bank's Act 124 of 1993
• •Usury Act 73 of 1968
• Copyright Act No. 98 of 1978
• financial Services Board Act No. 97 of 1990
• Long Term Insurance Act No. 52 of 1998
• Trade Marks Act No. 194 of 1993
• Financial Advisory and Intermediary Service Act Nr.37 of 2002

• •Administration of Estates Act, 66 of 1965
• •Alienation of Lands Act, 68 of 1981
• •Constitution of SA Act, 108 of 1996
• •Consumer Affairs (Unfair Business Practices) Act, 71 of 1988
• •Criminal Procedures Act, 51 of 1977
• •Fund Raising Act, 107 of 1978
• •Home Loan and Mortgage Disclosure Act, 63 of 2000
• •Inspection of Financial Institution Act, 18 of 1998
• •Pension Funds Act, 24 of 1956
• •South African Reserve Bank's Act, 90 of 1989
• •Stamp Duties Act, 77 of 1968
  
  

PART IV

• GROUNDS FOR REFUSAL OF ACCESS TO RECORDS

The main grounds for the Bank to refuse a request for information relates to the -

6.1 mandatory protection of a third party who is a natural person, which would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information of that natural person;

6.2 mandatory protection of the commercial information of a third party, if the record contains:

• •trade secrets of that third party;
• •financial, commercial, scientific or technical information which disclosure could likely cause harm to the financial or commercial interests of that third party;
• •information disclosed in confidence by a third party to the Bank, if the disclosure could put that third party at a disadvantage in negotiations or commercial competition;

6.3 mandatory protection of confidential information of third parties if it is protected in terms of any agreement;

6.4 mandatory protection of the safety of individuals and the protection of property;

6.5 mandatory protection of records which would be regarded as privileged in legal proceedings;

6.6 the commercial activities of the Bank, which may include :

• •trade secrets of the bank;
• •financial, commercial, scientific, or technical information which disclosure could likely cause harm to the financial or commercial interests of the bank;
• •information which, if disclosed could put the bank at a disadvantage in negotiations or commercial competition;
• •a computer program which is owned by the bank , and which is protected by copyright.

6.7 the research information of the institution or a third party, if its disclosure would disclose the identity of the bank, the researcher or the subject matter of the research and would place the research at a serious disadvantage;

6.8 Requests for information that are clearly frivolous or vexatious, or which involve an unreasonable diversion of resources shall be refused.

• REMEDIES AVAILABLE WHEN AN INSTITUTION REFUSES A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

7.1 INTERNAL REMEDIES

The Bank does not have an internal appeal procedure. As such, the decision made by the Information Officer will be final, if the requestor is not satisfied with the answer supplied by the Information Officer, if the External remedies available in (7.2) below should be followed.

7.2 EXTERNAL REMEDIES

A requestor that is dissatisfied with an Information Officer's refusal to disclose information, may within 30 days of notification of the decision, apply to a Court for relief. Likewise for information, the requester may within 30 days of notification of the decision, apply to a Court for relief. For purposes the Act, the Courts that have jurisdiction over these applications are the Constitutional Court, the High Court or another court of similar status.

• REQUEST PROCEDURE

8.1 The requester must comply with all the procedural requirements contained in the Act relating to the request for access to a record.

8.2 The requester must complete the prescribed form enclosed herewith in APPENDIX 2, and submit same as well as payment of a request fee (if applicable) and a deposit, where a request is made for access to information relating to a third party, to the Information Officer at the postal or physical address, fax number or electronic mail address as stated in (2) above.

8.3 The prescribed form must be completed with enough particulars to at least enable the Information Officer to identify the following:

• •The record or records required by the requester;
• •The identity of the requester and such person acting on behalf of the requester where applicable;
• •What form of access is required, if the request is granted;
• •The telephone number, postal address or fax number of the requester (within the Republic of South Africa);

8.4 The requester must state that the information is required in order to exercise or protect a right, and clearly indicate what the nature of the right is to be exercised or protected. In addition, the requester must clearly specify why the record is necessary to exercise or protect such right.

8.5 The Bank will process the request within 30 days, unless the request contains considerations that are such a nature that an extension of the 30 day time limit is necessitated.

8.6 Where an extension of the 30-day time limit is required, the requester shall be notified, together with reasons explaining why such extension is necessitated.

8.7 The requester shall be informed whether access will be granted or whether it is refused. If, in addition, the requester requires reasons to be provided for the decision, this requirement must be stated by the requester with reference to the manner in which and the particulars so required.

8.8 If a request is made on behalf of another person, then the requester must submit proof of the capacity in which the requester is making the request, to the reasonable satisfaction of the information officer.

8.9 If an individual is unable to complete the prescribed form (see APPENDIX 2) because of illiteracy or disability, such a person may make the request orally.

8.10 Where applicable the requester must pay the prescribed fee/s before any further processing can take place (see paragraph 10 below).

• ACCESS TO RECORDS HELD BY VBS MUTUAL BANK

Records that are in the possession of VBS Mutual Bank may only be accessed by a requester once the prerequisite requirements for access have been met.

9.1 Personal Requester

The Bank will voluntary provide the requested information, or give access to any record with regard to the requester's personal information. The prescribed fee for reproduction of the information will be charged.

9.2 Other Requester

This requester is entitled to request access to information held on any third party or parties. However, the Bank is not obliged to voluntary grant access to such records. The requester must fulfill the prerequisite requirements for access in terms of the Act, including the payment of a request and access fee.

• FEES

10.1 The Act provides for two types of fees that might be payable, namely:

• •A request fee of R50,00 which will be a standard fee prescribed by Regulation published in the Government Gazette; and
• •An access fee, which must be calculated by taking the following factors into consideration: reproduction costs, search and preparation time and cost and postal costs.

10.2 When the request is received by the Information Officer, such Officer shall by notice require the requester (other than a personal requester) to pay the prescribed request fee (if applicable), before further processing the request.

10.3 If the search for the record has been made and the preparation of the record for disclosure, including arrangements to make the records available in the requested form, requires more than the hours prescribed by Regulation for this purpose, the Information Officer shall notify the requester to pay as a deposit, the prescribed portion of the access fee which would be payable if the request is granted.

10.4 The Information Officer shall withhold a record until a requester has paid the fees as indicated in APPENDIX 1.

10.5 A requester whose request for access to a record has been granted, must pay an access fee for reproduction and for search and preparation, and for any time reasonably required in excess of the prescribed hours to search for and prepare the record for disclosure including making arrangements to make it available in the required form.

10.6 Where a deposit has been paid in respect of a request for access, which is subsequently refused, then the information officer concerned shall refund the deposit to the requester.

• DECISION

11.1 The Information Officer (or person(s) properly authorised to fulfill such function in the absence of the Information Officer) will, within 30 days after receipt of the request, decide whether to grant or decline the request and give notice with reasons (if so required by the requester) to that effect.

11.2 The 30 day period within which the Information Officer has to decide whether to grant or refuse the request, may be extended for a further period of not more than 30 days, if the request is made for a large amount of information, or the request requires a search for information held at another office of the Bank and the information cannot reasonably be obtained within the original 30 day period.

11.3 Unless otherwise required by the requester, the Bank will notify the requester in writing should an extension be necessitated.

• LIST OF APPLICABLE LEGISLATION

A table of legislation applicable is provided in (5) above.

• AVAILABILITY OF THIS MANUAL

13.1 This Manual is made available in terms of Regulation Number R. 187 of 15 February 2002.

13.2 This Manual is also available on the website of VBS Mutual Bank being:

www.vbsmutualbank.co.za

13.3 The Manual is further available at the South African Human Rights Commission and shall be published in English in the Government Gazette.

13.4 Copies of this Manual can also be obtained from the Information Officer.

 

Appendix 1 

ACCESS TO INFORMATION MANUAL 

SCHEDULE OF PRESCRIBED FEES 

The fees prescribed as per Government Notice No. R. 187 are :

 

1.                   The fee for a copy of the manual as contemplated in regulation 9(2)(c)[1] is R1,10 for every photocopy of an A4-size page or part thereof. 

2.            The fees for reproduction are as follows: 

3.         The request fee payable by a requester, other than a personal requester, referred to in regulation 11(2) is R50,00. 

4.         The access fees payable by a requester referred to in regulation 11(3) are as follows:

 

Appendix 2 

ACCESS TO INFORMATION MANUAL 

SCHEDULE OF PRESCRIBED FEES
REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO RECORD OF PRIVATE BODY
(Section 53(1) of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act No. 2 of 2000))

A.             Particulars of private body 

The Head:

B.             Particulars of  person requesting access to the record

(a)       The particulars of the person who requests access to the record must be given below. (b)       The address and/or fax number in the Republic to which the information is to be sent must be given. (c)        Proof of the capacity in which the request is made, if applicable, must be attached.

Full names and surname:                                                     Identity number:                                          
postal address:                                                                                                                          
Fax number:                                                    Telephone number:                                                
E-mail address:                                                                                                                         

           Capacity in which request is made, when made on behalf of another person:

C.             Particulars of person on whose behalf request is made

This section must be completed ONLY if a request for information is made on behalf of another person.

Full names and surname:                                                      Identity number:                                            

D.            Particulars of record

(a)       Provide full particulars of the record to which access is requested, including the reference number if that is known to you, to enable the record to be located. (b)       If the provided space is inadequate, please continue on a separate folio and attach it to this form. The requester must sign all the additional folios.

1.             Description of record or relevant part of the record: 

2.            Reference number, if available:

3.                 Any further particulars of record:

E.       Fees

(a)       A request for access to a record, other than a record containing personal information about yourself, will be processed only after a request fee has been paid. (b)       You will be notified of the amount required to be paid as the request fee. (c)        The fee payable for access to a record depends on the form in which access is required and the reasonable time required to search for and prepare a record. (d)       If you qualify for exemption of the payment of any fee, please state the reason for exemption.

Reason for exemption from payment of fees: 

F.         Form of access to record

If you are prevented by a disability to read, view or listen to the record in the form of access provided for in 1 to 4 hereunder, state your disability and indicate in which form the record is required.
Disability:	Form in which record is required:
Mark the appropriate box with an X. NOTES: (a)            Compliance with your request in the specified form may depend on the form in which the record is available. (b)            Access in the form requested may be refused in certain circumstances. In such a case you will be informed if access will be granted in another form. (c)        The fee payable for access to the record, if any, will be determined partly by the form in which access is requested.

 

1.         If the record is in written or printed form:
	copy of record*		inspection of record
2.         If record consists of visual images (this includes photographs, slides, video recordings, computer-generated images, sketches, etc.):
	view the images		copy of the images*		transcription of the images*
3.         If record consists of recorded words or information which can be reproduced in sound:
	Listen to the soundtrack (audio cassette)		transcription of soundtrack* (written or printed document)
4.         If record is held on computer or in an electronic or machine-readable form:
	printed copy of record*		printed copy of information derived from the record*		copy in computer readable form* (stiffy or compact disc)
*If you requested a copy or transcription of a record (above), do you wish the copy or transcription to be posted to you?  Postage is payable.					YES   NO

G.            Particulars of right to be exercised or protected

If the provided space is inadequate, please continue on a separate folio and attach it to this form. The requester must sign all the additional folios.

1.          Indicate which right is to be exercised or protected:  

            ……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..

1.              Explain why the record requested is required for the exercise or protection of the aforementioned right: 

            ……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..

            ……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..

            ……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..

            ……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..

            ……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..……………..

H.             Notice of decision regarding request for access

You will be notified in writing whether your request has been approved/denied. If you wish to be informed in another manner, please specify the manner and provide the necessary particulars to enable compliance with your request.

How would you prefer to be informed of the decision regarding your request for access to the record?  

Signed at                                      this                 day of                               20                           

                                                                      SIGNATURE OF REQUESTER / PERSON
                                                                      ON WHOSE BEHALF REQUEST IS MADE