MONEY TALKS

This report by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) analyzes the implementation of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA) in South Africa between January 2010 and August 2014. It details the challenges in accessing environmental governance and management records from government departments, parastatals, and private bodies, highlighting a trend of using the protection of third-party commercial information to refuse requests.

• Between January 2010 and August 2014, the CER submitted 240 PAIA requests, of which 192 were directed to government departments and state agencies. By 2014, fewer than 25% of requested records had actually been released.
• The most frequent justification for refusing access to information is the mandatory protection of third-party commercial information under section 36 of PAIA. The CER notes that public bodies often incorrectly assume they must refuse a request if a third party objects, failing to apply their minds to the objections.
• The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) showed a significant increase in actual refusals, rising from 8.3% in 2010–2011 to 50% in 2013. The CER also reports that the DMR frequently ignores the prescribed 30-day response period and often fails to provide records even after undertaking to do so in legal proceedings.
• The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) frequently refuses requests on the grounds that documents do not exist or cannot be found under section 23(1) of PAIA, which the CER attributes to poor record-keeping, particularly in regional offices.
• Efforts to access atmospheric emission licences (AELs) and compliance reports for South Africa's six oil refineries showed inconsistent results across municipalities. While the City of Cape Town and Eden Municipality released some records, others like eThekwini and Gert Sibande District Municipality refused access based on the protection of third-party commercial or confidential information.
• In the case of Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance v ArcelorMittal South Africa, the court ruled that public participation in environmental governance and the dissemination of information does not usurp the role of the state but is a vital collaboration to achieve constitutional objectives.

APA

Heitmann, E., Chien, L.-F., Hugo, R., & Fourie, M. (2014). MONEY TALKS. Centre for Environmental Rights. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/CER-Money-Talks-Nov-2014.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Heitmann, Eishe, Li-Fen Chien, Robyn Hugo, and Melissa Fourie. MONEY TALKS. Centre for Environmental Rights, 2014. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/CER-Money-Talks-Nov-2014.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Heitmann |first1=Eishe |last2=Chien |first2=Li-Fen |last3=Hugo |first3=Robyn |last4=Fourie |first4=Melissa |title=MONEY TALKS |publisher=Centre for Environmental Rights |date=November 2014 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/CER-Money-Talks-Nov-2014.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{heitmann2014money, author = {Heitmann, Eishe and Chien, Li-Fen and Hugo, Robyn and Fourie, Melissa}, title = {{MONEY TALKS}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2014}, month = nov, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/CER-Money-Talks-Nov-2014.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }