UNLOCK THE DOORS: HOW GREATER TRANSPARENCY BY PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BODIES CAN IMPROVE THE REALISATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS

The report finds that both public and private bodies in South Africa frequently fail to provide basic environmental information, often using PAIA as a tool to avoid transparency. While provincial and municipal bodies performed better, national departments—particularly the Department of Mineral Resources—demonstrated a culture of secrecy and non-compliance. The report recommends expanding voluntary disclosure and establishing an Information Commissioner to reduce the reliance on expensive court proceedings.

• Public and private bodies generally failed to provide access to basic environmental information, violating the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA) and the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (NEMA).
• The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) exhibited consistently poor compliance with PAIA, showing a reluctance to disclose information and a tendency to protect the financial interests of mining companies over the interests of civil society and communities.
• Provincial and municipal public bodies generally demonstrated a better understanding of PAIA tools and achieved higher success rates in providing information compared to national departments.
• Private bodies, particularly in the mining sector, often resist voluntary disclosure of environmental licences and use the lack of an internal appeal mechanism under PAIA to ignore requests, forcing requesters to use expensive legal action.
• Public bodies have increasingly used PAIA as a shield to avoid informal feedback and interaction with civil society, requiring formal requests even for information that should be freely available.
• There is a significant lack of capacity and training regarding PAIA within national departments, evidenced by the failure to appoint Deputy Information Officers in the Department of Water Affairs and the use of outdated PAIA manuals in the DMR.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (n.d.). UNLOCK THE DOORS: HOW GREATER TRANSPARENCY BY PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BODIES CAN IMPROVE THE REALISATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Unlock-the-Doors.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. UNLOCK THE DOORS: HOW GREATER TRANSPARENCY BY PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BODIES CAN IMPROVE THE REALISATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS. n.d. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Unlock-the-Doors.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=UNLOCK THE DOORS: HOW GREATER TRANSPARENCY BY PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BODIES CAN IMPROVE THE REALISATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Unlock-the-Doors.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrightsndunlock, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{UNLOCK THE DOORS: HOW GREATER TRANSPARENCY BY PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BODIES CAN IMPROVE THE REALISATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Unlock-the-Doors.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }