20.Role of the Commission
(1) The Commission is hereby granted the powers of oversight and enforcement of this Act.
(2) In the performance of its functions under this Act, the Commission shall be guided by the national values and principles of the Constitution.
(3) The Commission shall designate one of the Commissioners as "Access to Information Commissioner" with specific responsibility of performing the functions assigned to the Commission under this Act.
Plain English Summary
This section gives the Commission the power to watch over the law and make sure everyone follows the rules. When doing this job, the Commission must follow the country's main values and principles. They must also choose one specific leader from their group to be the special Information Commissioner who focuses entirely on this work.
21.Functions of the Commission
(1) The functions of the Commission shall be to—
(a) investigate, on its initiative or upon complaint made by any person or group of persons, violation of the provisions of this Act;
(b) request for and receive reports from public entities with respect to the implementation of this Act and of the Act relating to data protection and to assess and act on those reports with a view to assessing and evaluating the use and disclosure of information and the protection of personal data;
(c) develop and facilitate public education awareness and develop programmes on right to access to information and right to protection of personal data;
(d) work with public entities to promote the right to access to information and work with other regulatory bodies on promotion and compliance with data protection measures in terms of legislation;
(e) monitor state compliance with international treaty obligations relating to freedom of and right of access to information and protection of personal data;
(f) hear and determine complaints and review decisions arising from violations of the right to access to information;
(g) promote protection of data as provided for under this Act or the Constitution; and
(h) perform such other functions as the Commission may consider necessary for the promotion of access to information and promotion of data protection.
(2) The Commission shall have all the powers as are provided for under this Act, its constitutive Act and the Constitution as are necessary for the performance of its functions under this Act.
(3) The decisions of the Commission shall be binding on the national and county governments.
Plain English Summary
The Commission has several important jobs, which include looking into complaints when people are denied information, collecting reports from offices to see how they share data, and teaching the public about their right to know things. They also help offices protect your private data, make sure the country follows international information rules, and settle arguments when someone is refused information. To do these jobs, the Commission can use all the powers given to it by the country's main laws, and its final choices must be followed by both national and county governments.
22.Inquiry into complaints
(1) A person wishing to lodge a complaint under this Act shall do so orally or in writing to the secretary or such other person as may be duly authorized by the Commission for that purpose.
(2) A complaint lodged under subsection (1) shall be in such form and contain such particulars as the Commission may, from time to time, prescribe.
(3) Upon receipt of a complaint under subsection (1), the Commission may—
(a) call for information or a report regarding such complaint from the public entity or any other body within such reasonable time as may be specified by the Commission and—
(i) if the information or report called for is not received within the time stipulated by the Commission, the Commission may proceed to inquire into the complaint without such information or report; and
(ii) if on receipt of the information or report the Commission is satisfied either that no further action is required or that the required action has been initiated by the public entity, the Commission shall, in writing, inform the complainant accordingly and take no further action; or
(b) without prejudice to paragraph (a), initiate such inquiry as it considers necessary, having regard to the nature of the complaint.
Plain English Summary
If you want to complain, you can tell the Commission by speaking to them or by writing a letter. Your complaint must include the specific details that the Commission asks for on their forms. Once they get your complaint, they can ask the office involved to send them a report about what happened. If that office ignores them, the Commission will investigate anyway, but if the office fixes the problem, the Commission will write to let you know they are stopping the investigation.
23.Powers of the Commission
(1) In the performance of its functions under this Act, the Commission shall have the power to—
(a) issue summonses or other orders requiring the attendance of any person before the Commission and the production of any document or record relevant to any investigation by the Commission;
(b) question any person in respect of any subject matter under investigation before the Commission; and
(c)require any person to disclose any information within such person's knowledge relevant to any investigation by the Commission.
(2) The Commission may, if satisfied that there has been an infringement of the provisions of this Act, order—
(a) the release of any information withheld unlawfully;
(b) a recommendation for the payment of compensation; or
(c) any other lawful remedy or redress.
(3) A person who is not satisfied with an order made by the Commission under subsection (2) may appeal to the High Court within twenty-one days from the date the order was made.
(4) An order of the Commission under subsection (2) may be filed in the High Court by any party thereto in such manner as the Commission may, in regulations made in consultation with the Chief Justice, prescribe and such party shall give written notice of the filing of the order to all other parties within thirty days of the date of the filing of the order.
(5) If no appeal is filed under subsection (3), the party in favour of whom the order is made by the Commission may apply ex-parte by summons for leave to enforce such order as a decree, and the order may be executed in the same manner as an order of the High Court to the like effect.
(6) Public entities and relevant private bodies shall provide to the Commission such reports as required by the Act.
(7) The Commission shall, in consultation with the public, develop and publicize guidelines detailing the reporting requirements including the manner, means and timeframes that apply to public entities and relevant private bodies.
(8) The Commission may request any further information from the public entity or the relevant private body to facilitate and enhance monitoring at any time and may issue an order compelling the provision of such further information.
Plain English Summary
The Commission has the power to order people to come to its office, ask them questions, and make them hand over any files needed for an investigation. If they find that an office broke the law, the Commission can order them to release the hidden files, recommend that they pay you money for the trouble, or fix the problem in another fair way. If you or the office do not agree with the Commission's choice, you can challenge it in the High Court within 21 days. If no one challenges it, the choice becomes a serious legal order that must be followed just like a regular court ruling. Finally, the Commission can make rules about how offices must report to them and can force them to share extra facts at any time to make sure they are following the law.
24.Powers relating to investigation
(1) The Commission may, for the purpose of conducting any investigation pertaining to an inquiry, utilize the services of any public officer or investigation agency of the Government and where a public officer is so utilized under this subsection, the Commission shall pay such expenses as may be incurred by the public officer or agency for the service rendered.
(2) For the purpose of investigating any matter pertaining to an inquiry, a public servant or agency whose services are utilized under subsection (1) may, subject to the direction and control of the Commission—
(a) summon and enforce the attendance of any person for examination;
(b) require the discovery and production of any information;
(c) subject to the provisions of this Act, requisition any public records or copy thereof from any public officer; and
(d) take a statement under oath in relation to any investigation it is undertaking.
(3)The provisions of section 23 shall apply in relation to any statement made by a person before any public officer or agency whose services are utilized under subsection (1) as they apply in relation to any statement made by a person in the course of giving evidence before the Commission.
(4) The public officer or agency whose services are utilized under subsection (1) shall investigate into any matter pertaining to the inquiry and submit a report thereon to the Commission in that behalf.
(5) The Commission shall satisfy itself on the correctness of the facts stated and the conclusion, if any, arrived at in the report submitted to it under subsection (4) and for that purpose, the Commission may make such inquiry, including the examination of any person who conducts or assists in the investigation, as it considers necessary.
Plain English Summary
To help with an investigation, the Commission can ask any government worker or police agency for help and will pay for their expenses. Under the Commission's guidance, these helpers can order people to show up for questions, force them to hand over records, take official copies of government files, and make people promise under oath to tell the truth. These helpers must write a report for the Commission about what they discover. Finally, the Commission will double-check all the facts in the report and can interview the investigators themselves to make sure the findings are completely correct.