POPIA/PAIA Awareness

SAIEE POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act) Compliance Statement

Read the full POPIA manual published by the Information Regulator of South Africa by clicking here.

1. Introduction and Purpose

The South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE) is committed to safeguarding the privacy and protection of personal information it processes in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”) and its associated regulations. POPIA is South African privacy legislation that governs the lawful collection, use, storage, sharing, and destruction of personal information, and came into full effect on 1 July 2020 with enforcement from 1 July 2021.

This POPIA Compliance Statement explains how the SAIEE collects, processes, uses, protects, manages, and disposes of personal information in the course of its membership, professional development, training, publication, and event services.

2. Who We Are

The SAIEE is a voluntary association and professional body recognised within South Africa’s engineering ecosystem, representing electrical and electronic engineers, technologists, technicians, and related professionals. Its mission includes professional development, education and training, publications, events, mentorship, and industry engagement . Membership is open to individuals involved in the technical aspects of electrical engineering and is graded according to qualifications, experience, and achievement.

As a Responsible Party under POPIA, the SAIEE determines the purposes and means for the processing of personal information collected in connection with its services.

3. Personal Information We Collect and Process

SAIEE may collect and process personal information of members, prospective members, event participants, course attendees, volunteers, staff, and other stakeholders, including but not limited to:

• Identification and contact details: names, email addresses, telephone numbers, postal and physical addresses
• Professional and membership information: qualifications, grades, professional registrations, CPD records, membership status
• Transactional and billing information: payment records, invoices, training registration data
• Communication preferences: newsletters, updates, event invitations
• Other data necessary for lawful operational purposes as required for fulfilling contractual, legal, or legitimate organisational objectives.

Personal information is processed only where there is a lawful basis (e.g., consent, fulfilment of a contract, compliance with legal obligations, or legitimate interests of the SAIEE and its members).

4. How We Use Your Personal Information

We use personal information for the purposes of:

• Managing membership applications, renewals, and records
• Providing access to SAIEE events, training, publications, and professional development activities
• Communicating updates, newsletters, technical content, and operational notices
• Administering billing, payments, and financial obligations
• Responding to enquiries and support requests
• Fulfilling legal or regulatory duties including compliance with South African law.

5. Lawful and Fair Processing

Personal information is processed in accordance with the eight POPIA conditions for lawful processing , which include accountability, processing limitation, purpose specification, further processing limitation, information quality, openness, security safeguards, and data subject participation. SAIEE ensures that data is collected fairly, stored securely, and used only for specified and lawful purposes.

6. Protection and Security Measures

SAIEE implements appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unlawful access, disclosure, loss, damage, or destruction. Access to personal information is limited to authorised personnel and contracted parties where necessary. SAIEE regularly reviews and updates security protocols in line with evolving threats and compliance expectations.

7. Retention and Disposal

Personal information is retained only as long as necessary to fulfil the original purpose of collection, to comply with legal or regulatory obligations, or for record-keeping requirements. Once no longer needed, personal information is securely deleted, destroyed, or anonymised in a manner that prevents reconstruction or retrieval consistent with POPIA principles.

8. Your Rights as a Data Subject

Under POPIA, individuals (data subjects) have certain rights including:

• Right to access personal information
• Right to request correction or deletion of inaccurate, outdated, or irrelevant records
• Right to object to processing or limit certain uses of personal information
• Right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
• Right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa should they believe their rights have been infringed.

Requests relating to data subject rights may be submitted in writing to the SAIEE Information Officer (email via official SAIEE contact points).

9. Information Officer and Contact Details

SAIEE has appointed an Information Officer & Deputy Information Officer in terms of POPIA who is responsible for overseeing compliance, handling data subject requests, managing breach notifications, and ensuring that data protection practices meet statutory obligations.

Contact for POPIA matters:

Mr. L. Matutuoane (SAIEE CEO and Information Officer)
Email: leaneste@saiee.org.za
Tel: 011-487-9044

Mr. D. Millar (SAIEE Website Admin, Content Manager & Social Media Manager and Deputy Information Officer)
Email: douglas@saiee.org.za
Tel: 011-487-9052

Physical Address of the SAIEE: SAIEE House, 18A Gill Street, Observatory, Johannesburg, South Africa.

10. Complaints and Reporting

If you believe personal information has been misused, not protected, or handled in violation of POPIA, you may lodge a complaint with the SAIEE Information Officer and, where appropriate, with the Information Regulator of South Africa (independent statutory authority overseeing POPIA enforcement).

11. Review and Updates

This POPIA Compliance Statement may be amended and updated from time to time to reflect changes in law, organisational practices, or regulatory guidance. The most recent version will be published on the SAIEE official website.

12. Disclosure

The SAIEE does not use or disclose information about your individual visits to the site or information that you may give the SAIEE, such as your name, address, email address, or any other personal information, to any third parties, unless specifically authorised in written format and signed by members or individuals who's information has been used.
 

Are you compliant with Protection of Personal Information Act, Act 4 of 2013?

Read further for more information and assistance offered by Jodi Poswelletski of Fairbridges Wertheim Becker attorneys, Johannesburg on this awesome subject!




READ MORE IN JODI'S PRESENTATION HERE

 

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