Tlakula appointed chairperson of Information Regulator
President Jacob Zuma has confirmed the appointment of Advocate Pansy Tlakula as the chairperson of the Information Regulator and Advocate Lebogang Stroom, Johannes Weapond, Professor Tana Pistorius and Sizwe Snail Ka Mtuze as members of the Information Regulator. This appointment follows the National Assembly's recommendation on 7 September 2016.
The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI) was signed into law by the President in November 2013 and certain provisions of the Act relating to the appointment of the Information Regulator were made effective in April 2014.
The Information Regulator will be tasked with, among other things, monitoring compliance with, and enforcement of, the provisions of the POPI Act.
The members have been appointed with effect from 1 December 2016 and will serve a period of five years. It is anticipated that the commencement date for the remaining provisions of the POPI Act will soon follow the appointment of the members of the Information Regulator.
KPMG’s POPI specialist and attorney, Nikki Pennel says: “Companies will have 12 months from the commencement date to become fully compliant.”
Given the relatively short transitional period afforded by the POPI Act, organisations should be already well underway with their POPI compliance programmes.
