The Municipality of Buffalo City is committed to continually improving community access to information held by the city. The Promotion of Access to Information Act has strengthened the right of members of the public to information held by the municipality.

What is the Promotion of Access to Information Act all about?

The Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act No 2 of 2000) gives effect to the constitutional right of a person to any information held by the state or any other person, and such information is required for the exercise or protection of any rights. There are, however, certain limits placed by the Act on access to such information. The records held by a municipality, being one of the public bodies identified by this Act, are subject to the provisions of the Act. Under the Act, the municipality has a responsibility to:

• Foster a culture of transparency and accountability "… by giving effect to the right to access to information".
• 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 all of their rights.

What does this mean for the municipality?

Legally, an information officer has to be appointed. In terms of the Act, the Municipal Manager is the information officer of the municipality. S/He is required to produce a manual in three official languages on the functions of the municipality as well as an index of all the records held by the municipality as well as various other details. As this task will take some time to complete, the municipality has put into place certain interim arrangements for the public. (See interim measures below.)