On 22 June 2020, the Presidency confirmed the effective dates for the commencement of the bulk of the remaining sections of the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act.

Parliament assented to the POPI Act on 19 November 2013. The commencement date of section 1, Part A of Chapter 5, section 112 and section 113 was 11 April 2014.

Under proclamation No. R. 21 of 2020 in Gazette no. 11136, Vol. 660 No 43461 dated 22 June 2020, the commencement date of the other sections is 01 July 2020 (with the exception of section 110 and 114(4) which shall commence from 30 June 2021).

The aforementioned sections of the Act which commence on 1 July 2020 relate to:

• Conditions for the correct management and process of personal information;
• The regulation for special personal information processing;
• The Codes of Conduct issued by the Information Regulator and the procedures for dealing with complaints; and,
• The Provisions regulating direct marketing by means of unsolicited electronic communication and general enforcement of the Act.

It should be noted that section 114(1) states that all forms of processing of personal information must, within one year after the commencement of the section, be made to conform to the Act. Thus all entities, private and public, must be compliant with the Act by 01 July 2021.

Warmest regards,

Miltons Matsemela
23 June 2020