PAIA Manual
Manual in terms of section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000
Security City
Compiled: 15 September 2026 Last reviewed: 15 September 2026
1. Introduction
The Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 ("PAIA") gives effect to the constitutional right of access to information held by the State and to information held by another person that is required for the exercise or protection of any right.
Section 51 of PAIA requires every private body to compile a manual setting out how a requester may gain access to the records it holds. This document is the manual of Security City and Hardware Suppliers (Pty) Ltd, trading as Security City ("the Company").
The manual also contains the information required by section 51(1)(c) of PAIA regarding the processing of personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA").
2. Details of the Company
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Registered name | Security City and Hardware Suppliers (Pty) Ltd |
| Trading as | Security City |
| Registration number | 1995/003509/07 |
| VAT number | 4600151775 |
| Physical address | 27 Moore Avenue, Benoni South, Gauteng, South Africa |
| Postal address | PO Box 5022, Benoni South, 1502 |
| Telephone | 011 422 6001 |
| 066 455 5441 | |
| sales@securitycity.co.za | |
| Website | securitycity.co.za |
Nature of business: the Company is a multi brand distributor and retailer of security and automation hardware, including gate and garage automation, electric fencing, alarm systems, CCTV, intercoms, access control, power supplies, cabling and related components. The Company also operates a service and repair workshop at its Benoni premises.
3. Information Officer and Deputy Information Officers
| Role | Detail |
|---|---|
| Information Officer | Jason Harris |
| Designation | Chief Financial and Operations Officer |
| Telephone | 083 472 7844 |
| jason@securitycity.co.za | |
| Deputy Information Officer | [DEPUTY INFORMATION OFFICER TO BE CONFIRMED] |
Requests under PAIA must be addressed to the Information Officer at the address in section 2 above.
Note for completion: under section 1 of PAIA the Information Officer of a private body is the head of that body, being the chief executive officer, the equivalent officer, or the person acting in that capacity. The Information Officer must be registered with the Information Regulator before taking up their duties, and any Deputy Information Officer must be designated in writing. Registration status: [REGISTRATION STATUS TO BE CONFIRMED].
4. Guide of the Information Regulator
The Information Regulator has compiled a guide, as contemplated in section 10 of PAIA, containing information to assist a person who wishes to exercise a right under PAIA or POPIA. The guide is available in each official language.
The guide may be obtained from:
The Information Regulator (South Africa) Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191 Telephone: 010 023 5200 Toll free: 0800 017 160 Email: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za Website: inforegulator.org.za
5. Records available without a PAIA request
5.1 Records available in terms of other legislation
Certain records held by the Company are accessible in terms of legislation other than PAIA, without a request under section 50 of PAIA. These include records available under:
- Companies Act 71 of 2008
- Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008
- Value Added Tax Act 89 of 1991
- Income Tax Act 58 of 1962
- Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011
- Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997
- Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995
- Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998
- Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993
- Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993
- Unemployment Insurance Act 63 of 2001
- Skills Development Act 97 of 1998 and Skills Development Levies Act 9 of 1999
- Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013
- Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002
- Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003
5.2 Records automatically available
The following records are available on request without a formal PAIA application, and without payment of a request fee:
- Product catalogue, product descriptions and specifications published on the website
- Brand and stockist information published on the website
- Marketing brochures, product leaflets and price lists issued to customers
- Trading terms, quotations and invoices issued to the customer concerned
- The Company's Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, Terms and Conditions of Use and this PAIA Manual
5.3 Records available only on a PAIA request
All records not listed above are available only on a request in terms of section 50 of PAIA, and only where the requester shows that the record is required for the exercise or protection of a right.
6. Categories of records held
| Category | Examples of records |
|---|---|
| Company and statutory | Certificate of incorporation, Memorandum of Incorporation, share register, director and member details, statutory returns, minutes |
| Financial and tax | Annual financial statements, management accounts, general ledger, invoices, statements, VAT and PAYE returns, banking records |
| Customer and sales | Customer master data, credit applications, quotations, orders, delivery notes, invoices, credit notes, correspondence |
| Supplier and procurement | Supplier agreements, distributor and dealer agreements, purchase orders, price lists, import documentation |
| Stock and warehouse | Stock listings, product master data, goods received notes, stock counts |
| Workshop and technical | Job cards, repair records, warranty claims, returns and RMA records |
| Employment and human resources | Employment contracts, personnel files, payroll, leave records, disciplinary records, training records |
| Health, safety and insurance | Health and safety records, incident reports, insurance policies and claims |
| Information technology | System and software licences, service provider agreements, backup and security records, website records |
| Marketing | Marketing material, campaign records, mailing lists, website analytics |
| Legal | Contracts, legal opinions, litigation records, intellectual property records |
7. Processing of personal information under POPIA
7.1 Purposes of processing
The Company processes personal information in order to respond to enquiries and quote requests, prepare quotations, fulfil orders, deliver goods, administer trade and credit accounts, invoice and collect payment, handle warranty claims and repairs, comply with statutory obligations, employ and pay staff, manage suppliers, market its products in accordance with POPIA, and secure its premises and systems.
7.2 Categories of data subjects and their personal information
| Data subject | Personal information processed |
|---|---|
| Customers, installers and trade accounts | Name, company name, contact details, delivery address, registration and VAT numbers, credit and payment history, transaction records, correspondence |
| Website visitors and enquirers | Name, company name, email address, telephone number, enquiry content, quote basket contents, IP address, browsing data |
| Suppliers and service providers | Contact person details, banking details, contractual records |
| Employees and job applicants | Identity number, contact details, banking details, tax number, qualifications, employment history, payroll and leave records, medical and disciplinary records where applicable |
| Directors and shareholders | Identity details, contact details, shareholding records |
| Visitors to the premises | Name, contact details, vehicle details, CCTV footage |
7.3 Recipients of personal information
Personal information may be supplied to: operators and service providers, including hosting, email, IT and accounting providers; couriers and delivery partners; suppliers and manufacturers in relation to warranty and technical matters; banks and payment processors; credit bureaux and debt collectors; professional advisers, including auditors and attorneys; and regulators, SARS, courts and law enforcement, where required by law.
7.4 Transborder flows
Personal information may be transferred outside South Africa where the Company's hosting, email or software providers store data on servers abroad. Any such transfer is made in accordance with section 72 of POPIA.
Current cross border processing: website and database hosting provided by Lovable and its infrastructure providers, which may store data in the European Union and the United States; email hosting provided by Domains.co.za in South Africa; and website analytics provided by Google, which may process data in the United States.
7.5 Security safeguards
The Company maintains appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational measures to secure the integrity and confidentiality of personal information in its possession or under its control, in accordance with section 19 of POPIA. These include access control, individual user accounts, encryption of the website in transit, restricted physical access to records, confidentiality undertakings by staff and service providers, backups and periodic review of safeguards.
7.6 Requests relating to personal information
A data subject may request access to their personal information, or the correction or deletion of that information, by contacting the Information Officer. Requests to object to processing or to correct or delete personal information are made on Form 1 and Form 2 respectively under the POPIA Regulations, available from the Information Regulator's website.
8. How to request access to a record
Step 1: Complete the prescribed form
Use Form 2: Request for Access to Record of Private Body, prescribed under Regulation 7 of the PAIA Regulations. The form is available from inforegulator.org.za, or on request from the Information Officer.
Complete every field. Where a question does not apply, state "N/A". Where there is nothing to disclose, state "nil".
Step 2: Provide the required information
Your request must:
- provide sufficient detail to enable the Information Officer to identify the record and to identify you;
- state the form of access required;
- state the postal address, email address or fax number of the requester;
- identify the right that you are seeking to exercise or protect, and explain why the record is required to exercise or protect that right;
- state whether you wish to be informed of the decision in any manner in addition to writing, and specify that manner;
- if you are acting on behalf of another person, include proof of the capacity in which you are making the request.
Step 3: Submit the form and pay the request fee
Submit the completed form to the Information Officer by email or by post, together with proof of payment of the request fee where one is payable.
Banking details for payment: Nedbank Northmead, account name Security City, account number 1204700265, branch code 198765. No specific reference format is required; please use your name or company name as the reference.
Step 4: Decision
The Information Officer will decide whether to grant or refuse the request within 30 days of receipt of a complete request, and will notify you in writing of the decision and, where access is refused, of the reasons and your right of recourse.
The 30 day period may be extended by a further period of not more than 30 days where the request is for a large number of records, or the records are held at another office. You will be notified in writing of any extension.
If a record cannot be found or does not exist, you will be notified by way of an affidavit or affirmation setting out the steps taken to locate it.
9. Grounds on which access may be refused
Access to a record may or must be refused on the grounds set out in Chapter 4 of Part 3 of PAIA, including:
- mandatory protection of the privacy of a third party who is a natural person (section 63);
- mandatory protection of the commercial information of a third party, including trade secrets and financial, commercial, scientific or technical information the disclosure of which would be likely to cause harm (section 64);
- mandatory protection of certain confidential information of a third party, where disclosure would breach a duty of confidence (section 65);
- mandatory protection of the safety of individuals and the protection of property (section 66);
- mandatory protection of records privileged from production in legal proceedings (section 67);
- protection of the commercial activities of the Company, including trade secrets and information the disclosure of which could put the Company at a disadvantage in commercial competition (section 68);
- protection of research information of a third party or of the Company (section 69);
- a request that is manifestly frivolous or vexatious, or would involve a substantial and unreasonable diversion of resources (section 45).
Access must nevertheless be granted where the public interest override in section 70 applies.
10. Remedies
There is no internal appeal against a decision of the Information Officer of a private body.
A requester who is aggrieved by a decision may:
- lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator in terms of section 77A of PAIA, using Form 5 under the PAIA Regulations, sent to PAIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za; or
- apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for appropriate relief in terms of section 78 of PAIA, within 180 days of the decision.
11. Prescribed fees
The following fees are prescribed for private bodies. The Company is a VAT vendor and VAT is payable in addition where applicable.
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Request fee, payable by every requester other than a personal requester | R140.00 |
| Photocopy or printed black and white copy, per A4 page or part of a page | R2.00 |
| Printed copy of an A4 page or part of a page | R2.00 |
| Copy in computer readable form on a flash drive provided by the requester | R40.00 |
| Copy in computer readable form on a CD provided by the requester | R40.00 |
| Copy in computer readable form on a CD provided by the Company | R60.00 |
| Transcription of visual images, per A4 page | Outsourced, at the service provider's quoted rate |
| Copy of visual images | Outsourced, at the service provider's quoted rate |
| Transcription of an audio record, per A4 page | R24.00 |
| Copy of an audio record on a flash drive or CD provided by the requester | R40.00 |
| Copy of an audio record on a CD provided by the Company | R60.00 |
| Search and preparation, per hour or part of an hour, excluding the first hour | R145.00, capped at R435.00 |
| Deposit, where the search is likely to exceed six hours | One third of the access fee |
| Postage or electronic transfer | Actual expense |
A personal requester, being a person seeking access to a record containing their own personal information, does not pay a request fee.
Fees are those prescribed by the Information Regulator. Should the prescribed fees change, the current prescribed fees apply.
12. Availability of this manual
This manual is available:
- on the Company's website at securitycity.co.za/paia-manual;
- at the Company's physical address during trading hours;
- from the Information Officer on request;
- to the Information Regulator on request.
Copies may be requested at a fee of R2.00 per A4 page.
13. Review
This manual is reviewed at least annually and is updated whenever the Company's details, structure, records or processing activities change materially.