Legal
PAIA Manual
Manual of Veritas Medical (Pty) Ltd, prepared in terms of section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA), as amended.
1. Particulars of the private body
- Name
- Veritas Medical (Pty) Ltd, trading as Veritas Healthcare Complex
- Registration number
- 2025/414352/07
- Head of the body
- Dr Geber Middel, Co-Founder & Managing Director
- Information Officer
- Dr Geber Middel, Co-Founder & Managing Director, registered with the Information Regulator
- Deputy Information Officer
- None designated
- Physical address
- 11 Beach Road, Mossel Bay, Western Cape, 6506, South Africa
- Postal address
- 11 Beach Road, Mossel Bay, Western Cape, 6506, South Africa
- Telephone
- +27 79 496 2931
- Website
- www.veritasmedical.co.za
2. Purpose of this manual
PAIA gives effect to the constitutional right of access to information. It allows any person to request a record held by a private body where that record is required for the exercise or protection of any right. This manual explains what records Veritas holds and how to request access to them.
3. The Information Regulator's guide
The Information Regulator has published a guide, in terms of section 10 of PAIA, on how to use the Act. It is available from the Regulator:
- Address
- JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001
- PAIA complaints
- PAIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za
- Website
- inforegulator.org.za
4. Records available without a request
The following are published and may be accessed without a PAIA request: the content of this website, including descriptions of the Veritas platform, its facilities and services, this manual, our Privacy Notice and our Terms of Use.
Nothing further is published at present. This section will be updated if Veritas makes additional material freely available.
5. Records available in terms of other legislation
Certain records are accessible under other laws, including the Companies Act 71 of 2008, the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962, the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997, the National Health Act 61 of 2003 and the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013.
This list will grow as Veritas's licensed activities are established.
6. Subjects and categories of records held
Veritas holds records in the following categories. Section 51 requires these to be described in enough detail for a requester to identify a record; if what you are looking for does not obviously fall into one of them, contact the Information Officer.
- Company records — incorporation documents, memorandum of incorporation, statutory registers, minutes and resolutions.
- Financial records — annual financial statements, accounting records, tax records, banking records.
- Human resources — employment contracts, personnel files, payroll, policies, training records.
- Development and property — plans, approvals, construction contracts, title and lease documents.
- Commercial agreements — supplier, service provider, partnership and operator agreements.
- Investor and funding records — subscription and shareholder documents, funding agreements.
- Marketing — website content, brand assets, enquiry correspondence.
- Health and patient records — none held at present; these will arise once clinical services commence. They are subject to the National Health Act and to POPIA's conditions for special personal information, and access to them is restricted accordingly.
7. How to request access
- Complete the prescribed request form (Form 2 of the PAIA Regulations) and submit it to the Information Officer at the address in section 1.
- Provide enough detail to identify the record and to identify yourself, and state the form of access you want and how you wish to be informed of the decision.
- State which right you are seeking to exercise or protect, and explain why the record is required for that purpose. A private body may only be compelled to release a record on this basis.
- Pay the prescribed request fee, where one applies.
- The Information Officer will decide within 30 days and notify you. That period may be extended in the circumstances PAIA allows.
8. Fees
PAIA prescribes a request fee, payable before a request is processed, and an access fee covering the cost of searching for, preparing and reproducing a record. The amounts below are those prescribed in Annexure B to the PAIA Regulations, 2021 (Government Notice R.757, Government Gazette 45057 of 27 August 2021).
- Request fee
- R140.00 per request
- Photocopy or printed copy
- R2.00 for each A4 page or part of a page
- Search and preparation
- R145.00 for each hour, or part of an hour, reasonably required — excluding the first hour, which is not charged — up to a maximum of R435.00
- Postage or electronic transfer
- The actual expense, where any is incurred
- Other formats
- Copies in computer-readable form and transcriptions of audio or visual records are charged at the rates set out in Annexure B. The Information Officer will quote the applicable fee before the record is prepared.
Where the search for and preparation of a record is expected to take more than six hours, a deposit is payable before the request is processed. The deposit is not more than one thirdof the access fee that would be payable if the request were granted. If access is later refused, the deposit is repaid.
Fees are payable before the record is released. The Information Officer will notify you of the access fee before the record is prepared, and you may lodge an internal appeal or an application to court against the amount charged.
9. Grounds for refusing access
Access must or may be refused in the circumstances set out in Chapter 4 of Part 3 of PAIA, including where release would involve:
- the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about a third party;
- the disclosure of commercial information of Veritas or a third party, including trade secrets;
- a breach of a duty of confidence owed to a third party;
- prejudice to research, or to the safety of a person or property;
- the disclosure of legally privileged records; or
- a request that is manifestly frivolous or vexatious, or that would divert resources unreasonably.
10. If access is refused
PAIA provides no internal appeal against a decision of a private body. If your request is refused you may:
- lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator, using the details in section 3; or
- apply to a court with jurisdiction for appropriate relief.
11. Availability of this manual
This manual is published on this website. It is also available for inspection at our principal place of business during normal business hours, and a copy may be requested from the Information Officer. A reasonable fee may be charged for a printed copy.
12. Updating
This manual is reviewed and updated regularly. The version and date appear at the top of this page.