SAHA's UNRESOLVED PAIA REQUESTS

Details of some of SAHA's unresolved PAIA requests are below. For more information about any of the cases, contact the Freedom of Information Programme.

In addition to the below requests, SAHA continue to be involved in submitting requests for individuals' security legislation directorate files.

Apartheid-era files of former BCM members

SAHA is assisting the Steve Biko Foundation to attain copies of the Security Legislation Directorate files that the apartheid regime compiled on numerous Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) members.

SAHA submitted PAIA requests for the files in question in October of 2008. To date the National Archives have made all of the requested files available, though collection for some is still outstanding. SAHA has delivered all but 3 to the Foundation.

The Steve Biko Foundation is using the information in the files to create biographic profiles that will appear in the Steve Biko Museum in King Williams Town, when the museum is opened. For more details about the Steve Biko Museum contact the Steve Biko Foundation: http://www.sbf.org.za/

The Generals' Report

In February of 2009 SAHA (in conjunction with the Southern African Centre for the Survivors of Torture and the Southern African Litigation Centre) submitted a PAIA request to the Presidency for a copy of the Generals' Report. The Generals' Report was composed by former SANDF Generals who were tasked with investigating the violence in Zimbabwe subsequent to the elections there last year.

The Presidency claims that the Generals only reported back orally, not in writing; and as such there is no report to release. SAHA submitted an internal appeal, and that too was denied. Minister Chabane seconded the response to the initial PAIA request, and denied the existence of a report that could be made available.

SAHA, SACST and SALC remain skeptical about the Presidency's response. Aside from the significance of the matter investigated by the Generals, the lack of a written report is curious when one takes into account that the Generals' trip cost the South African government over six hundred thousand Rand.

In light of the above response, SAHA submitted a second PAIA request. This request asked for minutes and/or recordings of any meetings in which the content of the Generals' Report was discussed, including meetings in which the Generals reported back to the President on their findings related to the violence, and the causes thereof, that they were investigating.

After receiving another negative response, SAHA submitted an Internal Appeal to the Presidency.This Internal Appeal was also refused on the same eyebrow-raising grounds.

SAHA sought to brief counsel on the matter and have had extensive discussions with interested parties. While litigation remains pending (with the Presidency already having lodged their intention to oppose), it is hoped that negotiations will lead to release in enough time to affect a more peaceful process in Zimbabwe in their next elections.

TRC cases and records

Since 2006 SAHA has submitted numerous requests to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for various records of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Amongst the records that SAHA has requested are: the amnesty applications that Eugene De Kock, Janus Walus and Clive Derby-Lewis submitted to the TRC; transcripts of the TRC's section 29 in-camera hearings; minutes of the TRC's reparations committee meetings; and a copy of the TRC's victims database. The DOJ has time and again refused access to TRC records.

SAHA continually points out to the DOJ that the TRC was a public process - and hence that the records of the TRC are in the public domain; it is in the public interest for the TRC's records to be available to the public; and, that it is contrary to the spirit of the TRC to withhold these records.

SAHA has received from the Department the records in relation to Eugene De Kock, Janus Walus and Clive Derby-Lewis. However, on the question of the TRC Database, a file was released, but unfortunatly only released with one field available which made it unusable. After SAHA consulted with the Department, another copy of the Database was released with more available fields to assist in the statistical analysis of the data. SAHA is currently busy trying to assess the usability of this information for civil society generally.

Further SAHA is currently drafting papers, with the assistance of certain TRC commissioners, to contest against the attempt by the Department to utilise a general ban against the release of rceords relating to the in-camera hearings, despite already providing for the release of some on their website.

National Conventional Arms Control Committee follow up

In July of 2008 SAHA submitted 4 separate PAIA requests to the NCACC. The requests were for: copies of the NCACC's annual reports for 2006 and 2007; copies of all the quarterly reports that the NCACC has issued to parliament since the NCACC's inception; copies of all the reports that the NCACC has issued to the United Nations conventional arms registrar; details of the people or companies that are in possession of permits to sell, manufacture, distribute, import, export or re-export arms into or from South Africa; as well as other details relating to arms sales, imports, exports and distribution within South Africa.

The NCACC failed to respond to any of the requests. Similarly, the head of the NCACC failed to reply to the internal appeal that SAHA submitted. This left SAHA with no option but to initiate litigation. The matter was scheduled to be heard in the Pretoria High Court on 9 October 2009, but was postponed to 17 May 2010. While present at Court, SAHA accepted another request for postponement by the NCACC so that they could consider settlement at a group meeting. This resulted in the release of a signifcant amount of arms export information that revealed gross inadeqauacies in the way the South African government is controlling this process. Details of this can be found here.

As a follow up to what was learnt from the release of those reports, SAHA and Ceasefire submitted a request to the Department of Defence for any and all records of guidelines, policy considerations and factors given to decision-makers to exercise their powers in terms of section 15 of the relevant Act. It is hoped this will help reveal why such poor exporting decisions are being made. An internal appeal has been submitted pursuant to this request.