A Message to the Public:

I want the public to know that, based on my personal experience, I have serious concerns about whether the Information Regulator is providing the protection and support that ordinary citizens expect from an institution funded by taxpayers' money.

I honestly question the purpose of this institution when someone like me, an ordinary citizen living from one paycheck to the next, reaches out for help and is simply told, "We cannot assist you" — without even a phone call to listen to my concerns or understand what I have been through.

An insurance consultant and an assessor, whose qualifications included a matric certificate and a certificate in Insurance Claims Administration/Claims Assessment, were able to have a depression label associated with my name for seven years following a 3 week period of mourning the loss of my unborn child. To my knowledge, this label was applied without the involvement or assessment of a psychiatrist.

The consequences of this experience have been deeply distressing, and I am still living with the impact today.

I am not a wealthy person. I cannot afford a lawyer to fight for me or navigate a complicated system. I turned to the Information Regulator because I believed its mandate, including the protection of personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and access to information under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), meant that there was somewhere I could turn for help.

Instead, I felt dismissed before anyone had taken the time to hear my story. Who protects the ordinary citizen when the very institution they turn to for assistance says it cannot help?

What does the promise of protecting personal information mean to someone who believes their personal information has been handled in a way that has caused lasting harm, but who cannot afford legal representation?

I am sharing my experience because I do not want other ordinary citizens to feel as helpless as I have felt. Public institutions funded by taxpayers should be accessible, accountable, and willing to listen to the people they are meant to serve.

I understand that there may be limits to the Regulator's powers. However, when a person reaches out for help, surely they deserve an explanation, guidance on their options, and the dignity of having their concerns properly heard.

My experience has left me questioning whether the protection promised by POPIA and PAIA is truly accessible to ordinary South Africans who cannot afford to fight their battles in court. I am not asking for special treatment. I am asking for accountability, fairness, and a system that does not leave ordinary citizens feeling abandoned when they need help the most.

This is my experience. This is my concern. And I believe the public deserves to hear it.