Maryna holds the BA, LLB, LLM degrees and is a Director at the Cape Town branch of STBB. She is an admitted Attorney, Notary Public, Conveyancer and Insolvency Practitioner with many years of experience in the fields of property law, conveyancing and the laws relating to corporate compliance (especially in respect of the FICA and POPIA laws). Up until 2018 she was also head of the firm’s national marketing portfolio. She is a seasoned public speaker and presenter, both in person and online. She prepares text for the majority of STBB’s internal and external publications and is editor and co-writer for two pivotal publications in the South African real estate industry – the ABC of Conveyancing (JUTA) and Delport’s South African Property Law and Practice (JUTA).

Thought of the Week | NOT ANOTHER POPI EMAIL: HOW WILL POPIA COMPLIANCE AFFECT YOUR BUSINESS?

We regularly consult with business owners who, when considering their POPIA compliance responsibilities, react thereto in love-hate terms. On the one hand, there is a positive response where compliance is constructively applied to the business’ own day-to-day running procedures and management. On the other hand, it appears less rosy where it is presented as a must-do red tape exercise, with a government-imposed threat of financially damaging penalties for non-compliance .

Fortunately, compliance with POPIA is neither of the above as these notes suggest:

  1. Complying with POPIA is a big business worry only
  2. Ensuring compliance with POPIA is not an IT responsibility
  3. Debunking the one-size-fits-all approach to complying with POPIA
  4. POPI is not really about (unnecessary) red tape and a way for government to burden businesses

The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI or POPIA), in the most simple terms, sets out ways in which businesses must deal with personal information that they hold and process. This includes personal details of their employees, as well as the personal details of their customers, clients and service providers; whether the customers and clients are individuals or other businesses/entities.

No matter the size of your business operation, you will hold (i.e., record) details of your customers, employees and third parties that provide services to you, online or on paper. As such you should now commence steps to make sure the information is safeguarded as required by POPIA, to be compliant when the Act becomes enforceable in July 2021.

Contact us for assistance with your compliance journey at 

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