In South Africa, freedom of information (FOI) is entrenched in section 32 of the Constitution, which guarantees every citizen the right of access to any information held by the state or by any other person that is to be used for the protection or exercise of any right. The Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) is the law that gives effect to section 32 of the Constitution. Regardless of a remarkable trend towards the adoption of FOI laws, international trends have shown this does not automatically translate into fulfilment of people's right to information. This study utilised mixed method research through the explanatory sequential design to assess compliance with FOI legislation by public bodies in South Africa, with a view to develop a model for implementation of FOI. The study first conducted a quantitative study by analysing the reports of the South African Human Rights Commission from the reporting years 2006/07 to 2016/07 to assess compliance with sections 14, 15, 16, 17 and 32 of the PAIA. Thereafter, a qualitative study through interviews with purposively chosen participants was conducted to substantiate the findings of a quantitative study. Key results suggest that over the years, there were problems in the implementation of the FOI legislation in South Africa and its use was limited. Where implementation has taken place, it has been partial and inconsistent. The responsibility for the implementation of FOI legislation in most public bodies is assigned to legal departments that do not have knowledge of what records are created, and where and how they are kept. With regard to compliance, in terms of the degree of comparison, the situation was better in national departments, worse in provincial departments and worst in municipalities. The study recommends the establishment of an information governance unit to implement FOI in public bodies. Failure to assign responsibility to a relevant unit would perpetuate the non-compliance with FOI legislation by public bodies in South Africa. A model for the implementation of PAIA within a public body is suggested.

在南非，《宪法》第32条确立了信息自由（FOI），该条款保障每个公民有权访问国家或任何其他人用于保护或行使人权的信息。任何权利。促进信息获取法（PAIA）是使《宪法》第32条生效的法律。不管采用FOI法律的趋势如何，国际趋势都表明这并不能自动转化为人们知情权的实现。这项研究采用混合方法研究，通过解释性顺序设计来评估南非公共机构对FOI立法的遵守情况，以期建立实施FOI的模型。该研究首先通过分析南非人权委员会2006/07至2016/07年度的报告进行了定量研究，以评估对PAIA第14、15、16、17和32节的遵守情况。此后，通过与有目的选择的参与者进行访谈进行了定性研究，以证实定量研究的结果。主要结果表明，多年来，在南非实施FOI立法存在问题，其使用受到限制。在实施的地方，它是局部的和不一致的。在大多数公共机构中，执行FOI立法的责任被分配给不知道创建了哪些记录以及在何处以及如何保存这些记录的法律部门。关于合规性 就比较程度而言，国家部门情况较好，省级部门情况较差，市级情况较差。该研究建议建立一个信息治理部门，以在公共机构中实施FOI。未能将责任分配给相关单位将使南非公共机构不遵守FOI立法的情况长期存在。建议在公共机构中实施PAIA的模型。