EXCLUSIVE: In a SHOCKING admission that exposes the FRAGILE state of your data privacy, a top official has revealed South Africa’s information watchdog is CRIPPLED, under-resourced, and utterly POWERLESS to stop government secrecy. While corporations face scrutiny, a DANGEROUS loophole allows the state to operate in the shadows, with a key transparency law described as TOOTHLESS and outdated.
Mukelani Dimba, acting executive for the Information Regulator, dropped a BOMBSHELL in a recent interview, confessing the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia) is a “very different technological environment” relic from 2000 that grants the regulator NO real enforcement power. This means YOUR right to access critical information about government contracts, spending, and decisions is virtually UNENFORCEABLE.
“Popia is strong and robust,” Dimba stated, referring to private data protection, but the contrast with public transparency is STAGGERING. He demanded urgent amendments to give the regulator “corrective action” powers over the state—a power it currently LACKS. This glaring imbalance reveals a TWO-TIER system: your personal data with businesses is protected, but government opacity is ALLOWED TO FLOURISH.
But the crisis DEEPENS. Dimba admitted the regulator itself is STRAPPED and FAILING to keep up. “We simply don’t have enough staff to meet demand,” he said, blaming limited resources and an inability to compete with private sector salaries for tech experts. The result? “Delays.” Your privacy complaints are languishing in a backlog while cyber threats SKYROCKET.
Even more ALARMING, Dimba blasted the nation’s cybersecurity response as WEAK and uncoordinated. “I don’t think there is a sufficiently strong, multi-agency response to cybersecurity threats in South Africa,” he warned, painting a picture of a nation ILL-PREPARED for the digital war already at its doorstep. As Artificial Intelligence and complex algorithms make decisions about your life, the underfunded watchdog can only “closely monitor” while admitting privacy is NOT prioritized in these systems.
The chilling conclusion is inescapable: the very body tasked with guarding your digital rights is understaffed, overmatched, and legally HAMSTRUNG from holding the powerful accountable. Your personal information is a commodity in a market where the referees are being played off the field. If the guardians of transparency are forced to admit they are powerless, what does that say about the integrity of our entire digital society? The truth is not just hidden—the system is BROKEN BY DESIGN.
Author: Kayitsi.com
