Moshapo Digital Studio
PAIA Manual

How to request our records.

Published in terms of section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000. Every private body needs one of these — the small-business exemption ended on 31 December 2021.

Last updated: 14 September 2026

About this manual

The Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) gives you the right to ask for records held by a private body, including this one. This manual explains what records we hold, how to ask for them, what it costs, and what you can do if we say no.

Head of the private body

Information Officer

In a sole proprietorship the owner is automatically the Information Officer. Requests can be sent to:

  • Name: Marope Moshapo
  • Contact: hello@moshapodigitalstudio.co.za

The Information Regulator's guide

The Information Regulator has published a guide, in terms of section 10 of PAIA, explaining how to use the Act. It is available free from the Regulator:

Records we hold

We are a small studio, so the list is short. Records are held in these categories:

Client and project records

  • Enquiries submitted through the contact and Start a Project forms
  • Quotes, invoices and proof of payment
  • Project briefs, content supplied by clients, and correspondence
  • Design files, source files and completed website files

Business records

  • Financial and tax records kept as required by the Income Tax Act and the Tax Administration Act
  • Records of supplier and service-provider accounts
  • Domain, hosting and software licence records

Website records

  • The website's own source code and content
  • Aggregate, non-personal analytics about site traffic

Some of these records are automatically available without a formal request — your own quote, invoice or project files, for example. Just ask us.

How to request a record

  • Use the prescribed form. PAIA requests to a private body must be made on Form 2 of the PAIA Regulations. The current form is available from the Information Regulator's website at inforegulator.org.za.
  • Fill it in properly. Provide enough detail to identify the record you want, your contact details, the form in which you want it, and the right you are trying to exercise or protect. That last part is required — PAIA only compels a private body to release a record where you need it to exercise or protect a right.
  • Send it to us. Email the completed form to hello@moshapodigitalstudio.co.za, or deliver it to the address above.
  • We respond in 30 days. We will tell you in writing whether the request is granted, and what the fee is. That period can be extended by a further 30 days in the circumstances PAIA allows, and we will tell you if that happens.

Fees

PAIA allows a private body to charge a request fee before it processes a request, and an access fee covering the cost of searching for, preparing and copying a record.

We do not charge either one. Asking us for records is free. We will not invoice you for search time, preparation or copies, and there is no deposit.

If that ever changes, we will publish the prescribed tariff on this page before it applies to anyone, and we will quote you in writing before doing any chargeable work so you can withdraw the request at no cost.

Grounds on which we may refuse

PAIA requires us to refuse a request in certain cases. The main ones:

  • Releasing it would unreasonably disclose someone else's personal information.
  • It contains commercial information belonging to a third party — trade secrets, financial or technical information that could cause them harm.
  • It was given to us in confidence and releasing it would breach that confidence.
  • It is legally privileged.
  • It contains our own trade secrets or confidential commercial information.
  • The request is manifestly frivolous or vexatious, or would divert our resources unreasonably.

If we refuse, we will tell you in writing which ground we are relying on and why, and explain how to take it further.

If we refuse — your remedies

There is no internal appeal in a private body. If you are unhappy with our decision you can:

  • Complain to the Information Regulator. Lodge a complaint on the prescribed form with the Regulator, whose details are above.
  • Apply to court.Approach a High Court, or a Magistrate's Court designated for PAIA matters, for an order granting access. This must be done within 180 days of our decision.

Personal information we process

PAIA now requires this manual to describe the personal information we process and who it may be shared with. Rather than repeat it here, that is set out in full on our Privacy Policy page, including the categories of information, the purposes, the operators we use, and the fact that some of it is stored outside South Africa.

Availability of this manual

This manual is published on this website and is available free of charge. A copy can be emailed on request to hello@moshapodigitalstudio.co.za.

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