INFORMATION ACT MANUAL

Promotion of Access to Information Act (Act 2 of 2000) ("the Act")
PEP is a Division of Pepkor Retail Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pepkor Holdings Ltd and a member of the Pepkor Group, and a subscriber to the Manual set out hereunder
PEPKOR HOLDINGS LIMITED REGISTRATION NUMBER 2003/020009/06
("Pepkor" or "the Company") and its subsidiaries ("the Pepkor Group")
16 AUGUST 2011
Manual: Version 2

1.    The Human Rights Commission is responsible for compiling a guide that provides details on how to use the Act. Please direct any further queries in this regard to:
The South African Human Rights Commission
Forum 3
Braampark Office Park
Braamfontein
Head office: +27 11 877 3600
Website: www.sahrc.org.za

 

2.    In terms of Section 51(1) of the Act, all heads of private bodies are required to compile a manual that provides information regarding the subjects and categories of records held by such private bodies. This manual is intended to fulfil this requirement.

 

3.    Pepkor is a South African based investment holding company managing retail interests in Africa, Australia and Poland. It is focused on a cash retail value market and, through its operating subsidiaries, all strongly positioned in their individual niche markets; it satisfies consumers' basic needs for clothing at affordable prices. Appendix A provides a complete list of South African companies forming part of the Pepkor Group structure. The scope of this manual is limited to operational companies marked "active" as per Appendix A. All other companies are either holding companies or dormant.

 

4.    The company supports the supply and availability of information as contemplated in the Act.

 

5.    The Secretary of the company is duly authorized to ensure that the requirements of the Act are administered in a fair, objective and unbiased manner. Accordingly, all requests for access to records should be addressed to:
The Information Officer: The Secretary
Postal address: P O Box 6100, Parow East, 7501
Physical address: 36 Stellenberg Road, Parow Industria, 7490
Phone number: 021 933 5137     
Fax number: 021 933 5075
e-mail address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it


6.    The records can be found in various forms including electronic and paper. In terms of the Act access must be granted irrespective of form or medium.


7.    The table below provides an indication of subjects of information that the company holds and corresponding categories:

 

Subject Category Publicly available/not
Finance Share records(registers, transfers, disclosure etc.) Yes
Accounting records and asset registers No
Statements of Accounts Yes
General Correspondence No
Sales and marketing Product Information (e.g. Pricing) Yes
Sales statistic No
Product Brochures Yes
Marketing Information No
General Correspondence No
Human resources Employee records No
Personnel guidelines, policies and procedures No
Training courses No
Information No
General Correspondence No
Information technology IT Policies and Procedures No
Network diagrams No
User Manuals No
General Correspondence No
System configuration information No
Source Code No
Logistics Stock No
Location of warehouses Yes
Details of service providers No
General correspondence No
Administration (Minute books) Administration (Minute books) No
Contracts No
Leases No
General Correspondence No
Intellectual Property No
Litigation No

 

8.  Certain records can be accessed without the submission of a formal request. These records, where applicable, generally include the following categories: Web site, annual reports, interim reports, records lodged with the Registrar of Companies, the JSE Securities Exchange SA ("JSE") and other regulatory bodies, newspaper announcements and circulars to shareholders. These records, where applicable, can be accessed on the company's web site, referring to newspapers or by approaching the holder of such information (i.e. the secretary and/or the transfer secretaries of the company, the Registrar of Companies and/or the JSE), in each case complying with the requirements laid down for this purpose.

 

9.    Additionally, the company is legally required to ensure that certain categories of records are available for access, without a formal request:

  • The Occupational Health and Safety Act No.85 of 1993
  • The Value-Added Tax Act No.89 of 1991
  • Income Tax Act No.58 of 1962
  • Companies Act No.71 of 2008
  • Basic Conditions of Employment Act No.75 of 1997
  • Employment Equity Act No.55 of 1998
  • Labour Relations Act No.66 of 1995
  • The Medical Schemes Act No.131 of 1998
  • The Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act No.130 of 1993
  • The Health Act No.63 of 1977
  • Customs and Excise Amendment Act, 45 of 1995
  • South African Revenue Services Act, 34 of 1997


Notification of the availability of these records in terms of these Acts has not yet been given to the Cabinet Minister of Justice. Please note that the identification and inclusion of all pertinent legislation cannot be guaranteed. Any person, who is aware of any specific legislation that should be included and which has been omitted, should contact the Company Secretary directly.
10.    A request for access to a record that does not fall within the categories identified in Section 7 of this manual must be done formally either via conventional mail, e-mail or fax. This request should be in the prescribed format as specified in the Act and the Regulations thereto and should be addressed to the Information Officer as identified in Section 4 of this manual. The request fee, prescribed in the Regulations, should be attached. Please note that both the formal request form and a copy of the current fee structure are available at the company's head office. Each request should:

  • provide sufficient particulars for the company to identify the requester and the records requested
  • indicate the form of access required
  • specify the postal address or fax number of the requester in the Republic of South Africa and
  • identify the right the requester is seeking to exercise or protect and provide reasons for the request.


The company's Information Officer will respond to any request within 30 days of receiving the request by indicating whether such request for access has been granted or not. Access may be refused under limited circumstances such as:

  • Protecting personal information that the company holds about a third person (who is a natural person) from unreasonable disclosure
  • Protecting commercial information that the company holds about a third party (e.g. trade secrets, financial, commercial, scientific or technical information that may harm the commercial or financial interests of a third party)
  • If disclosure would result in a breach of a duty of confidence owed to a third party
  • If disclosure would jeopardize the safety or life of an individual
  • If disclosure would prejudice or impair the security of property or means of transport
  • If disclosure would prejudice or impair the protection of a person in accordance with a witness protection scheme
  • If disclosure would prejudice or impair the protection of the safety of the public
  • The record is privileged from production in legal proceedings unless the privilege has been waived
  • If the record is a computer programme
  • Disclosure of the record will put the Company at a disadvantage in contractual or other negotiations or prejudice it in commercial competition
  • Disclosure of the record (containing trade secrets, financial, commercial, scientific, or technical information) would harm the commercial or financial interests of the Company
  • Records containing information about research being carried out or about to be carried out on behalf of a third party or the Company.



11.    If access to a record that contains information about a third party is requested, the company is obliged to attempt to contact such third parties to inform them of the request and to give them an opportunity to respond by either consenting to the access or by providing reasons why the access should be denied.

12.    If the company has searched for a record and believe that it either does not exist or cannot be found, the company will notify the requester by way of an affidavit or affirmation that it is not possible to provide access to the requested record due to its inability to locate it. The company will also provide the requester with details on the steps that were taken to try to locate the record and will confirm to the requester that, if at a later stage the record is located, the company will grant the requester access, provided that access is not prohibited in terms of Chapter 4 of Part 3 of the Act.