EDGARS
28 November 1997
The Director General
Office of the Deputy President
Attention: Advocate M Gumbi
Dear Sirs
DRAFT OF OPEN DEMOCRACY BILL (NOTICE 1514 OF 1997 – GOVERNMENT GAZETTE 18381)
1. Background to the Edgars Group of Companies
The Edgars Group, as you may be aware, is a leading speciality retailer of clothing, footwear, and accessories. The Group trades under the style Edgars, Sales House, Jet Cuthberts and ABC throughout Southern Africa from some 600 trading outlets. The Group retains a base of customer accounts in excess of 3,6 million in number. The Group relies heavily on its account base for a significant portion of retail sales and maintains regular communication with its customer account holders through the mail. The mail is used as the medium to distribute merchandise promotional literature, sale notifications and general information to all account holders.
2. SACOB and the Direct Marketing Association submission on the Bill
As a member of both SACOB and the Direct Marketing Association of Southern Africa, the Edgars Group fully associates itself with and supports the submission containing commentary and suggestions on the draft bill as provided by SACOB and the Direct Marketing Association.
3. Impact of the Bill on specifically the business of Edgars
Sections 54 and 56, as read with sections 58 and 59, which all relate to the disclosure and usage of information held on private data bases could impact significantly on our business in the context of individual consent to disclosure of information.
We note from the draft bill that the nature of the consent to be granted, manner, timing and associated issues are to be fully dealt with by way of regulations. The number of accounts currently held by ourselves (as well as other like organisations) would make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to obtain the express consent of each and every account holder for purposes contemplated in Sections 54 and 56 of the bill.
We would accordingly request that in framing the regulations the administrative and practical issues be borne in mind. The administrative activities and costs associated with obtaining the express consent of customers would be enormous for an organisation such as ours (with our 3,6 million account holders).
We submit that imposing on a data-base holder the obligation to give effect to the specific instructions of a customer (i.e. to expressly record their denial of consent) would be far more appropriate than imposing on the data-base holder the obligation to obtain the express consent of a customer.
We respectfully request that our submissions as contained herein, as well as the submission of SACOB and the Direct Marketing Association be favourably considered. We are of the view that the content of the two submissions aforementioned if taken into account when the final bill and regulations thereto are framed, would add value to the process.
Should you have any queries with regard to the content hereof, do not hesitate to contact the writer directly.
N V TOERIEN
GROUP SECRETARY AND LEGAL COUNSEL
7 August 1998
Chairperson
Portfolio Committee for Justice
National Assembly
CAPE TOWN
Dear Sirs
OPEN DEMOCRACY BILL (B67-98)
1. For ease of reference on our paradigm, we attach our letter dated 27 November 1997, addressed to the Office of the Deputy President and refer you specifically to clause 1 thereof, where it states that the Edgars Group of Companies has a base in excess of 3,6 million customer account holders. Edgars Group relies heavily on these account holders for a substantial portion of merchandise sales. We use the postal services to communicate with these customers on a regular basis inter alia : to send them monthly statements to inform them of any promotions, sales or general informant which is relevant to them.
2. In principle we commend the essence of this Bill and agree that the privacy rights of individuals be ensconced by the Constitution and otherwise.
3. However the concomitant relationship between the well being of individuals and business (as the employers of those individuals) must never be forgotten.
4. We thank and encourage the National Council of Provinces and the National Assembly to continue to build positively on the progress made to date and not to revert to unrealistic privacy measures.
5. We accept and commit ourselves in principle to the rights of individuals to object to the use of disclosure of their personal information to third parties unless they have consented to such use or disclosure, but must in this regard stress the enormous administration and cost burden on ourselves if Section 58 intends to regulate the exact manner (i.e. "prescribed form" and "prescribed manner") that such consented use, disclosure or denial thereof must be embodied in.
6. It is our further concern that the very essence of the Bill which is to ensure transparency of government and business now refers many issues to regulations, with no requirement to consult private sector bodies that will be directly impacted by the Regulation. In this regard we strongly urge that the need to consult and communicate with those private bodies in the drafting of the Regulations must not be omitted.
Long live our new democracy.
N V TOERIEN
GROUP SECRETARY AND LEGAL COUNSEL