REQUEST TO INCLUDE CERTAIN RECORDS IN, AND TO REMOVE CERTAIN LIMITATIONS FROM, THE DEPARTMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES’ DECLARATION IN TERMS OF SECTION 15 OF THE PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT, 2000

A joint letter from the Centre for Environmental Rights and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies requesting the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) to amend its section 15 declaration under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to increase transparency and remove restrictions on who can access mining and environmental records.

• The signatories request that the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) remove all limitations on the categories of persons who can access records automatically available under section 15 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA). They argue that the 2014 PAIA Manual incorrectly limits access to landowners, lawful occupiers, and 'Other interested and affected parties', which contradicts the Act's intent to make records available to 'a person' without a formal request.
• The DMR is urged to include several specific categories of records in its section 15 declaration to ensure they are automatically available to the public: mining and prospecting rights (including works programmes), environmental authorisations, social and labour plans (SLPs), environmental management programmes/plans (EMPs/EMPRs), full applications for these rights and licences, and all related compliance inspection reports, audit reports, and monitoring data.
• The letter highlights that the DMR's 2014 PAIA Manual classifies environmental authorisations as documents containing 'financial and or confidential information' that must be requested via PAIA. The signatories argue this is contrary to the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, 2014, which require authorisation holders to make copies available on their websites and to anyone upon request.
• Regarding Social and Labour Plans (SLPs), the signatories note that the DMR has excluded 'confidential commercial and financial information' and limited access to 'interested and affected persons'. They argue that without full access to SLPs, communities cannot ensure mining companies meet their social obligations. They also reference a September 13, 2016, testimony by DMR Deputy Director-General Raphela to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) promising community access to SLPs.
• The document asserts that the exclusion of Environmental Management Plans (EMPs) and Environmental Management Programmes (EMPRs) from the section 15 declaration hinders the public's ability to monitor environmental compliance and exercise their constitutional right to a healthy environment under section 24 of the Constitution and the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA).
• The signatories point to a trend toward 'open data' and proactive disclosure in South African and international law, citing the African Platform on Access to Information Declaration and the National Development Plan. They specifically note that the Department of Environmental Affairs (April 2016) and the Department of Water and Sanitation have already committed to making similar environmental and water licences automatically available.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2016). REQUEST TO INCLUDE CERTAIN RECORDS IN, AND TO REMOVE CERTAIN LIMITATIONS FROM, THE DEPARTMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES’ DECLARATION IN TERMS OF SECTION 15 OF THE PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT, 2000. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Joint-CER-_CALS-Letter-to-DMR-regarding-s15-declarations-in-terms-of-PAIA-27-09-2016.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. REQUEST TO INCLUDE CERTAIN RECORDS IN, AND TO REMOVE CERTAIN LIMITATIONS FROM, THE DEPARTMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES’ DECLARATION IN TERMS OF SECTION 15 OF THE PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT, 2000. 2016. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Joint-CER-_CALS-Letter-to-DMR-regarding-s15-declarations-in-terms-of-PAIA-27-09-2016.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=REQUEST TO INCLUDE CERTAIN RECORDS IN, AND TO REMOVE CERTAIN LIMITATIONS FROM, THE DEPARTMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES’ DECLARATION IN TERMS OF SECTION 15 OF THE PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT, 2000 |date=27 September 2016 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Joint-CER-_CALS-Letter-to-DMR-regarding-s15-declarations-in-terms-of-PAIA-27-09-2016.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2016request, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{REQUEST TO INCLUDE CERTAIN RECORDS IN, AND TO REMOVE CERTAIN LIMITATIONS FROM, THE DEPARTMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES’ DECLARATION IN TERMS OF SECTION 15 OF THE PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT, 2000}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2016}, month = sep, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Joint-CER-_CALS-Letter-to-DMR-regarding-s15-declarations-in-terms-of-PAIA-27-09-2016.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }