PAIA Manual

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Introduction

Burstone Group Limited is a South African Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) that was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in 2011. The Fund pursues a bi-regional investment strategy, focused on building scale and relevance in its core geographies of South Africa and Western Europe. The Fund's investment portfolio is currently comprised of R22.1 billion of direct and indirect real estate investments located across both these regions.

The purpose of this manual is to inform requesters of the procedural and other requirements which a request for information must meet as prescribed by the Act.

Contact Details

Name of Private Body: Burstone Group Limited

Physical Address: 4 Sandown Valley Crescent, Sandown, Sandton, 2196 South

Africa Postal Address: 4 Sandown Valley Crescent, Sandown, Sandton, 2196

Head of Private Body: Mr Andrew Wooler

Information Officer: Jenna Sprenger

Electronic Mail: jenna.sprenger@burstone.com

The Promotion of Access to Information Act

The Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2 of 2000 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) grants a requester access to records of a private body, if the record is required for the exercise or protection of any rights. If a public body lodges a request, the public body must be acting in the public interest.

Requests in terms of the Act shall be made in accordance with the prescribed procedures, at the rates provided. The forms and tariff are dealt with in paragraphs 6 and 7 of the Act.

Requesters are referred to the Guide in terms of Section 10 which has been compiled by the South African Human Rights Commission, which will contain information for the purposes of exercising Constitutional Rights. The Guide is available from the SAHRC.

The contact details of the Commission are:

Postal Address: Private Bag 2700, Houghton, 2041

Telephone Number: +27-11-877 3600

Facsimile Number: +27-11-403 0625

Website: www.sahrc.org.za

The Promotion of Access to Information Act

The following records are automatically available to any person requesting this information and it is therefore not necessary to apply for access thereto in terms of the Act:

Requests for the above-mentioned records may be sent to any of the addresses provided under Contact Details above and copies are available for a fee as prescribed in Appendix1

Records That Are Available in Accordance with Legislation

Records are available in terms of the following legislation:

  • Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 75 of 1997;

  • Companies’ Act, 71 of 2008;

  • Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Disease Act, 130 of 1993;

  • Competition Act, 89 of 1998

  • Customs & Excise Act, 91 of 1964;

  • Employment Equity Act, 55 of 1998;

  • Labour Relations Act, 66 of 1995;

  • Occupational Health and Safety Act, 85 of 1993;

  • Skills Development Act, 97 of 1998;

  • Trademarks Act, 194 of 1993;

  • Unemployment Insurance Act, 63 of 2001;

  • Value Added Tax Act, 89 of 1991.

Records Held By The Fund Available on Request

The Fund keeps, inter alia, records in terms of various regulatory requirements that have an impact on its operations. These records are not automatically available and any request for access to thereto will be assessed in accordance with applicable internal policies and legislative requirements.

Companies’ Act Records:

  1. Memorandum of Incorporation;

  2. Minutes of meeting of the Board of Directors;

  3. Minutes of meetings of Shareholders;

  4. Records relating to the appointment of

    1. :Directors;

    2. Auditors;

    3. Secretary;

    4. Public Officer;

    5. Any other Officer.

  5. Share Register and other statutory registers and/or records and/or documents.

Income Tax Act Records:

  1. Pay-as-you-earn(PAYE) Records;

  2. Documents issued to employees for income tax purposes;

  3. Records of payments made to South African Revenue Services on behalf of employees;

  4. All or any statutory compliances;

  5. Value Added Tax;

  6. Regional Services Levies;

  7. Skills Development Levies;

  8. Unemployment Insurance Fund;

  9. Workman’s Compensation;

  10. Customs and Excise.

LabourRelationsRecords:

  1. Personnel Documents and Records;

  2. Employment Contracts;

  3. Employment Equity Plan (If applicable);

  4. Medical Aid Records;

  5. Pension Fund Records;

  6. Disciplinary Records;

  7. Salary Records;

  8. Disciplinary Code and/or procedures;

  9. Leave Records;

  10. Training Records;

  11. Training Manuals;

  12. Address Lists;

  13. Internal Telephone Lists.

Third-Party Records:

  1. Records held by the Fund pertaining to third parties, including, but not limited to, financial records, correspondence, contractual records, records provided by the other party, and records third parties have provided about any contractors and/or suppliers;

  2. Records held by The Fund pertaining to contractors, subsidiary companies, joint venture companies, special purpose vehicle companies and service providers. [In cases where information requested by the requester may impact on a third party, the Information Officer is obliged to comply with the requirements as set out in terms of the Act(especially Sections 71 to 73 of the Act).]

Procedure for Request for Access (Sections 53 to 57 and 60 of The Act)
  1. The requester must comply with all the procedural requirements as set out in the Act, relating to the request for access to a record.

  2. The requester must complete the prescribed form enclosed herewith as Appendix 2 (Form C), and submit same together with payment of the request fee (if applicable) and a deposit (if an access fee is applicable) to the Information Officer at the postal or physical address or electronic mail address under Contact Details above. Prescribed fees for a request are listed in Appendix 1.

  3. The prescribed form must be completed with sufficient detail so as to enable the Information Officer to identify:

    1. The records requested;

    2. The identity of the requester;

    3. Which form of access to the records is required, should the request be granted;

    4. The postal address or facsimile number of the requester.

  4. The requester must explain what other right is being protected or exercised

  5. The requester must indicate if the requester, in addition to being informed in writing whether access to the record has been granted, wishes to be informed of the decision of the request in any other manner.

  6. If the request is made on behalf of another person, then the requester must submit proof of the capacity in terms of which the requester is making the request, to the reasonable satisfaction of the Information Officer.

  7. Should an individual be unable to complete the prescribed form because of illiteracy, disability or any other reason, such individual may submit such request orally to the Information Officer.

Applicable Time Periods
  1. The Fund will inform the requester within 30 days after receipt of the request of its decision whether to grant the request.

  2. The 30-day period may be extended by a further period of not more than 30 days if the request is for a large number of records or requires a search through a large number of records and compliance with the original period would unreasonably interfere with the activities of The Fundorthe records are not located atThe Fund, or consultations amongst divisions and/or subsidiaries of the Fund or another private body are required.

The Outcome of a Request (Granting or Refusing)
  1. Should the request be granted, the notice will state the access fee (if any) to be paid upon access, the form in which access will be given and further that the requester may lodge an application with a Court against the access fee to be paid or the form of access granted, and the procedure for lodging such application.

  2. Should the request be refused, the notice will state adequate reasons for the refusal, including the provisions of the Act, relied upon; and that the requester may lodge an application with a Court against the refusal of the request, and the procedure (including the time period) for lodging the application.

Grounds for Refusal of Access to Records (Chapter 4 of the Act)

Apart from Section 7 of the Act, and subject to Section 70 of the Act, the main grounds for The Fund to refuse a request for information as contemplated by the Act relates to:

  1. Protection of the privacy of a third party, if that third party is a natural person, which would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information of that natural person (Section 63 (1) );

  2. Protection of commercial information of a third party as defined by the Act, if the record contains:

    • trade secrets of that third party;

    • financial, commercial, scientific or technical information other than trade secrets of a third party;

    • the disclosure of which would be likely to cause harm to the commercial or financial interests of that third party;

    • information disclosed in confidence to The Fund by a third party, the disclosure of which could put that third party at a disadvantage in contractual or other negotiations or would prejudice that third party in commercial competition (Section 64).

  3. Protection of confidential information if the disclosure would constitute a breach of a duty or confidence to a third party in terms of an agreement (Section 65);

  4. Protection of safety of individuals and protection of property (Section 66);

  5. Protection of records which would be regarded as privileged in any legal proceedings, unless the person so entitled to privilege waives the privilege (Section 67);

  6. Protection of commercial activities of The Fund, which includes:

    • trade secrets of The Fund;

    • financial, commercial, scientific or technical information, disclosure of which could cause harm to the financial or commercial interests of The Fund;

    • information which, if disclosed, could put The Fund at a disadvantage in negotiations or commercial competition;

    • a computer programme owned by The Fund, and which is protected by copyright (Section 68);

  7. The research information of The Fund or a third party on behalf of The Fund if the disclosure would expose the third party, The Fund, the researcher or the subject matter of the research to serious disadvantage (Section 69).

  8. The requester must pay the prescribed fee (if applicable) before any further processing can take place.

Remedies Available in Refusal of a Request for Information (Part 4 of the Act)
  1. The Fund does not have internal appeal procedures and as such, the decision made by the Information Officer is final.

  2. Should the requester be dissatisfied with the Information Officer’s decision to refuse access, that person may within 30 days after notification of the refusal apply to a Court for the appropriate relief.

  3. Should a third party be dissatisfied with the Information Officer’s decision to grant a request for information relating to that third party, it (the third party) may within 30 days of notification of such decision, apply to a Court for the appropriate relief.

Appendix 1
Prescribed Fees

No

Description

Fee in Rands

1

The fee for a copy of the manual as contemplated in regulation 9(2)(c)for every photocopy of an A4-size page or part thereof

R1.10

2

The fees for reproduction referred to in regulation 11(1)are as follows:

(a)For every photocopy of an A4-size page or part thereof

R1.10

(b) For every printed copy of an A4-size page or part thereof held on a computer or in electronic or machine-readable form

R0.75

(c)For a copy in a computer-readable form on–

(i)stiffy disc

(ii)compact disc

R7.50

R70.00

d)(i)For a transcription of visual images, for an A4-size page or part thereof

(ii)For a copy of visual images

R40.00

R60.00

(e)(i) For a transcription of an audio record, for an A4-size page or part thereof

(ii)For a copy of an audio record

R20.00

R30.00

The request fee payable by a requester, other than a personal requester, referred to in regulation 11(2)

R50.00

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

1)(a) For every photocopy of an A4-size page or part thereof

R1.10

(b)For every printed copy of an A4-size page or part thereof held on a computer or in electronic or machine-readable form

R0.75

(c)Foracopyin a computer-readable form on-

(i) stiffy-disc

(ii)compact disc

R7.50

R70.00

(d) (i) For a transcription of visual images, for an A4-size page or part thereof

(ii)For a copy of visual images

R40.00

R60.00

(e) (i) For a transcription of an audio record, for an A4-size page or part thereof

(ii)For a copy of an audio record

R20.00

R30.00

(f) To search for and prepare the record for disclosure for each hour or part of an hour reasonably required for such search and preparation.

R30.00

Appendix 2
Form C
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 here under, state your disability and indicate in which form the record is required.

Disability:

Form in which record is required:

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 for 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 images

transcription of the images

3. If records consists of recorded words or information which can be reproduced in sounds:

listen to audio or soundtrack

audio cassette

transcription of soundtrack* written or printed document

4. If records 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*

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:

  2. 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