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Spatial Data Infrastructure Act 2003

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[Last checked: 28 March 2025.*]

*The last time this Act was reviewed for updates.

SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURE ACT 54 OF 2003

[Updated to 11 October 2024.**]

**Date of last changes incorporated into this Act.

___________________

(English text signed by the President.)

(Assented to 28 January 2004.)

___________________

Published: G. 25973

Commencement: ss 1-11, 13, 19-22: 8 May 2006;

Ss 12, 14-18: 28 June 2015

Proc 19, G. 28788

Amended

Act 4 of 2011 (G. 34300, with effect fom 16 May 2011 [Proc 25, G. 38822]).

ACT

To establish the South African Spatial Data Infrastructure, the Committee for Spatial Information and an electronic metadata catalogue; to provide for the determination of standards and prescriptions with regard to the facilitation of the sharing of spatial information; to provide for the capture and publishing of metadata and the avoidance of duplication of such capture; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

BE IT ENACTED by the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:—

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1. Definitions

2. Application of Act

3. Establishment and objectives of South African Spatial Data Infrastructure

4. Powers of Minister

5. Establishment of Committee for Spatial Information

6. Powers and functions of Committee

7. Terms of office of members

8. Disqualification as member of Committee

9. Meetings of Committee

10. Establishment of subcommittees

11. Spatial information standards and prescriptions

12. Capture and publishing of metadata

13. Manner and refusal of access to spatial information

14. Supply of and accountability for spatial information

15. Agreements on utilisation of spatial information

16. Collaborative maintenance

17. Reporting on data quality

18. Security of spatial information

19. Delegation of powers

20. Regulations

21. Liability

22. Short title

1. Definitions

In this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise—

“base data set” means those themes of spatial information which have been captured or collected by a data custodian;

“Committee” means the Committee for Spatial Information established by section 5;

“data custodian” means—

(a) an organ of state; or

(b) an independent contractor or person engaged in the exercise of a public power or performance of a public function,

which captures, maintains, manages, integrates, distributes or uses spatial information;

“data set” means an identifiable collection of related spatial information;

“data vendor” means a person who supplies spatial information on behalf of a data custodian;

“Department” means the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform;

[“Department” subs by s 41 of Act 4 of 2011.]

“Director-General” means the Director-General of the Department;

“features” means geographic phenomena having common characteristics;

“field” means an area of a database record into which a particular item of data is entered;

“maintenance” when used in relation to spatial information, means—

(a) measures taken to ensure that spatial information conforms to the standards and prescriptions determined in terms of this Act; or

(b) the updating or modification of spatial information to ensure that it remains usable and reliable;

“member” means a member of the Committee;

“metadata” means a description of the content, quality, condition and other characteristics of spatial information;

“Minister”* means the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform;

*Administration, powers and functions transferred to the Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development, effective immediately before the President assumed office on 19 June 2024 – Proc 199 / G. 51368 / 11 October 2024.

[“Minister” subs by s 41 of Act 4 of 2011.]

“organ of state” means an organ of state as defined in section 239 of the Constitution;

“prescribe” means prescribe by regulation;

“quality” means the degree to which spatial information which has been captured or collected satisfies stated or implied needs, and includes geographic information about lineage, completeness, currency, logical consistency and accuracy of the spatial information;

“record” means a record as defined in section 1 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act 2 of 2000);

“SASDI” means the South African Spatial Data Infrastructure established by section 3;

“spatial information” means information about spatial objects or features and their attributes;

“this Act” includes any regulation made or notice published in terms of this Act;

“user” means any person who has obtained access to spatial information in order to use such information.

[Commencement of s 1: 8 May 2006.]

2. Application of Act

This Act applies to organs of state which hold spatial information and to users of spatial information.

[Commencement of s 2: 8 May 2006.]

3. Establishment and objectives of South African Spatial Data Infrastructure

(1) The South African Spatial Data Infrastructure is hereby established as the national technical, institutional and policy framework to facilitate the capture, management, maintenance, integration, distribution and use of spatial information.

(2) The objectives of the SASDI are to—

(a) facilitate the capture of spatial information through co-operation among organs of state;

(b) promote effective management and maintenance of spatial information;

(c) promote the use and sharing of spatial information in support of spatial planning, socio-economic development and related activities;

(d) create an environment which facilitates co-ordination and co-operation among all stakeholders regarding access to spatial information;

(e) eliminate duplication in the capturing of spatial information;

(f) promote universal access to such information; and

(g) facilitate the protection of the copyright of the state in works relating to spatial information.

(3) The Director-General administers this Act and the South African Spatial Data Infrastructure.

[Commencement of s 3: 8 May 2006.]

4. Powers of Minister

(1) The Minister may—

(a) prescribe standards and measures on the sharing and integration of spatial information;

(b) determine the fees, costs, price or charges payable for spatial information and other records;

(d) establish and maintain an electronic metadata catalogue as a component of the SASDI; and

(e) in concurrence with the Minister of Finance, determine and pay remuneration and allowances to members of the Committee or subcommittee who are not in the full-time employ of the State.

(2) The Minister may, in accordance with section 231 of the Constitution, enter into an agreement with any person or body, within and outside the Republic, with a view to promoting any matter relating to the management and utilisation of spatial information.

(3) The Minister may suspend or revoke a decision or measure of the Committee.

(4) The Minister must, after suspending the decision or measure of the Committee and before its revocation, remit such decision or measure for the Committee’s reconsideration.

[Commencement of section 4: 8 May 2006.]

5. Establishment of Committee for Spatial Information

(1) The Committee for Spatial Information is hereby established.

(2) The Committee consists of the following members appointed by the Minister—

(a) One person to represent the Minister;

(b) two persons in the full-time employ of the Department;

(i) Statistics South Africa, as defined in section 1 of the Statistics Act, 1999 (Act 6 of 1999);

(ii) the national department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs; and

[S 5(2)(c)(ii) subs by s 42 of Act 4 of 2011.]

(iii) such other national departments of state identified by the Minister;

(d) one person from each provincial government, in the full-time employ of such government;

(e) two persons in the full-time employ of local municipalities, one of whom shall be from a municipality which is mainly rural in character and the other from a municipality which is mainly urban in character;

(f) one person to represent the Council of Government Information Technology Officers;

(g) one person to represent a professional association of persons involved in Geographic Information Science;

(h) one person involved in the teaching or research of Geographic Information Science;

(i) at least one person to represent the interests of public entities contemplated in Schedules 2 and 3 to the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act 1 of 1999), that perform functions which support the objects of this Act; and

(j) one person from each data custodian as identified by the Minister.

(3) The Minister must, after calling for nominations from the public in the prescribed manner, and—

(a) in respect of paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (2), after consultation with the Ministers responsible for those departments;

(b) in respect of paragraph (d) of subsection (2), after consultation with the Premiers of the respective provinces; and

(c) in respect of paragraph (e) of subsection (2), after consultation with the Chairperson of the South African Local Government Association,

appoint the members of the Committee and an alternate member for each such member.

(4) The Minister must appoint from among the members of the Committee a chairperson and a deputy chairperson.

(5) When the chairperson is unable to perform the functions of that office, the deputy chairperson must perform those functions.

(6) The Minister must, within 30 days from the date of appointment of the members of the Committee, publish the names of the appointees, the position held by each appointee to the Committee and the date of each appointment, by notice in the Gazette.

(7) If a member dies or vacates his or her office before the expiry of his or her term of office, the Minister may, subject to subsection (2), appoint any person to fill the vacancy for the unexpired portion of the period for which such member was appointed.

[Commencement of s 5: 8 May 2006.]

6. Powers and functions of Committee

(1) The Committee must advise the Minister, the Director-General or an organ of state dealing with spatial information on—

(a) matters referred to the Committee by the Minister, the Director-General or an organ of state;

(b) any matter regarding the capture, management, maintenance, integration, distribution and use of spatial information; and

(2) The Committee—

(a) must facilitate, promote and safeguard an environment for the efficient collection, management, distribution and utilisation of spatial information;

(b) must monitor and acquire information relating to the functioning of the SASDI;

(d) may print, circulate, sell, finance and administer the publication of any material relating to spatial information;

(e) must promote awareness of its activities, including dissemination of information on the importance of spatial information for effective governance, planning and decision making;

(f) must, within three months after the end of each financial year, submit a report to the Minister, stating the activities of the Committee and its subcommittees and any recommendations from the Committee aimed at improving its functioning or the functioning of the SASDI; and

(g) may do anything necessary for the proper performance of its functions or to achieve the objectives of the SASDI.

[Commencement of s 6: 8 May 2006.]

7. Terms of office of members

A member—

(a) must be appointed for a period of three years; and

(b) may not serve more than two consecutive terms unless the Minister is of the opinion that appointment for a further term will be beneficial to the Committee.

[Commencement of s 7: 8 May 2006.]

8. Disqualification as member of Committee

(1) The Minister may not appoint as a member of the Committee a person who—

(a) is an unrehabilitated insolvent;

(b) is mentally ill;

(c) has been convicted, whether in the Republic or elsewhere, of an offence involving dishonesty or an offence for which he or she was sentenced to imprisonment without the option of a fine, unless the person has received a grant of amnesty or a free pardon before the date of his or her appointment;

(d) has been removed from an office of trust on account of improper conduct;

(e) has had his or her name removed from any professional register on account of misconduct and has not been reinstated;

(f) is a political representative at the national, provincial or municipal sphere of government;

(g) has been determined by a court, tribunal or forum as contemplated by the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, 2000 (Act 4 of 2000), to have contravened section 7 or any other provision of that Act; or

(h) is not a fit and proper person to be so appointed.

(2) A member of the Committee must vacate his or her office, if he or she—

(a) becomes disqualified in terms of subsection (1) from being appointed as a member of the Committee;

(b) has, without the leave of the Committee, been absent from two consecutive meetings of the Committee or a subcommittee of which he or she is a member;

(d) has been recalled by, or ceases to be associated with, the body that he or she represented at the time of his or her appointment to the Committee or, in the case of an official in the service of the State, ceases to be such an official;

(e) is incapable of performing his or her duties due to ill health; or

(f) has engaged in any activity that has brought or may bring the Committee into disrepute.

[Commencement of s 8: 8 May 2006.]

9. Meetings of Committee

(1) The first meeting of the Committee must be held at the time and place determined by the Minister and subsequent meetings must be held at such times and places as may be determined by the Committee.

(2) The Committee must hold at least four meetings each year but may hold such further meetings as it determines from time to time.

(3) The chairperson may at any time on reasonable grounds and on notice of the purpose of the meeting convene a special meeting of the Committee to be held on a date and place that he or she determines.

(4) The chairperson must convene a special meeting, and state the purpose of the meeting, within 14 days of the receipt of a request for such meeting by—

(a) the Minister;

(b) the Director-General; or

(5) A majority of all the members of the Committee constitutes a quorum at any meeting of the Committee.

(6) A decision of the majority of the members of the Committee present at any meeting constitutes a decision of the Committee.

(7) In the event of an equality of votes, the chairperson has a casting vote in addition to his or her deliberative vote.

(8) A decision taken by the Committee or an act performed under the authority of the Committee is not invalid by reason only of a vacancy on the Committee or that a person who is not entitled to sit on the Committee, sat as a member at the time when the decision was taken or the act was authorised, if the decision was taken or the act authorised by the requisite majority of the members of the Committee who were present at the time and entitled to sit as members.

[Commencement of s 9: 8 May 2006.]

10. Establishment of subcommittees

The Committee may—

(a) establish subcommittees for the effective performance of its functions;

(b) delegate any of its powers and functions to a subcommittee on such terms as it considers appropriate;

(d) at any time revoke the delegation to a subcommittee;

(e) despite any delegation, itself exercise a delegated power or function;

(f) co-opt experts or persons with special skills who are not members of the Committee as non-voting members of a subcommittee; and

(g) designate one of the members of a subcommittee as chairperson of the subcommittee.

[Commencement of s 10: 8 May 2006.]

11.* Spatial information standards and prescriptions

*Determination of Information standards to facilitate the sharing and integration of spatial information, with effect from one month from date of publication – GN 4966 / G. 50825 / 14 June 2024 / p14.

(1) The Minister may determine standards and prescriptions to facilitate the sharing and integration of spatial information.

(2) No standard or prescription determined by the Minister shall take effect unless it has been published in the Gazette at least one month before the effective date specified in the notice.

(3) A data custodian and a data vendor must adhere to the standards and prescriptions referred to in this section.

[Commencement of s 11: 8 May 2006.]

12. Capture and publishing of metadata

(1) A data custodian must capture and maintain metadata for any spatial information held by it in accordance with this Act.

(2) A data custodian must ensure that metadata is available to users by—

(a) making its metadata available to the Department, in the prescribed manner, for inclusion in the electronic metadata catalogue; and

(b) including it in a manual on functions as described in section 14 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act 2 of 2000).

(3) The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, exempt any data custodian, or exempt any type of exercise either in a particular instance or in general, from any provision relating to the capture or maintenance of spatial information contained in regulations made in terms of this Act.

[Commencement of s 12: 28 June 2015.]

13. Manner and refusal of access to spatial information

The provisions of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act 2 of 2000), relating to the manner and refusal of access to records apply to any matter regulated in terms of this Act.

[Commencement of s 13: 8 May 2006.]

14. Supply of and accountability for spatial information

(1) A data custodian may, in the prescribed manner, appoint a data vendor to supply products derived from the data custodian’s dataset.

(2) A data custodian is accountable for the integrity of unmodified spatial information which is supplied by the data vendor in terms of this Act.

(3) A data custodian or a data vendor supplying spatial information must provide—

(a) the information in a prescribed manner; and

(b) the relevant metadata together with the spatial information.

[Commencement of s 14: 28 June 2015.]

15. Agreements on utilisation of spatial information

(1) A data custodian or a data vendor and a user may enter into a licensing agreement with regard to the use of spatial information.

(2) A licensing agreement must provide for—

(a) the duration of the agreement;

(b) the legal protection of the copyright of the State and any other interested party; and

[Commencement of s 15: 28 June 2015.]

16. Collaborative maintenance

(1) Data custodians may exchange spatial information in terms of a collaborative maintenance agreement providing for the regular updating of base data sets within an agreed period.

(2) A collaborative maintenance agreement must provide—

(a) for the duration of the agreement;

(b) a stipulation of the frequency with which updated versions of the base data set in question must be provided;

(d) for the legal protection of the copyright of the State and other interested parties; and

(e) any other provision that the parties may consider necessary and as may be prescribed.

(3) A data custodian of a base data set must, in the absence of an agreement contemplated in this section, furnish all updates of spatial information of the base data set to the data custodian of a derivative data set, within a prescribed period, in order to ensure synchronised updates of the two data sets.

(4) A data custodian of a derivative data set must update the data set within a prescribed period after receiving an update of the base data set.

(5) The data custodian of a base data set must render all reasonable assistance to the data custodian of a derivative data set to perform the updating contemplated in subsection (4).

[Commencement of s 16: 28 June 2015.]

17. Reporting on data quality

(1) A user or data vendor must report any deficiency in the quality of spatial information to the data custodian or data vendor who supplied the information, within a prescribed period after discovering that deficiency.

(2) The user or data vendor must provide specific and sufficient information in the report to enable the data custodian or data vendor who supplied the spatial information to identify the record concerned and must, if possible, indicate what the record should contain.

(3) The data custodian or data vendor must respond, in the prescribed time and manner, to the user or data vendor after receiving the report on that deficiency.

(4) If a data custodian or data vendor does not respond within the prescribed time, the user or data vendor may refer the matter to the Committee, and the Committee may take any remedial action it considers necessary or expedient.

[Commencement of s 17: 28 June 2015.]

18. Security of spatial information

A data custodian must—

(a) take reasonable steps to effect adequate and appropriate security against the loss of spatial information in his, her or its custody or any unauthorised or unlawful access to and modification or disclosure of that spatial information; and

(b) ensure the protection of the copyright of the State and other interested parties in spatial information in his, her or its custody.

[Commencement of s 18: 28 June 2015.]

19. Delegation of powers

The Minister may, in general or in a particular case, in writing delegate to the Director-General or any officer in the service of the national government any power, except the power to make regulations, conferred upon him or her in terms of this Act.

[Commencement of s 19: 8 May 2006.]

20. Regulations

(1) The Minister may by notice in the Gazette make regulations in respect of—

(a) any matter which is required or permitted to be prescribed under this Act;

(b) criteria for the nomination, selection and appointment of any person as a member of the Committee;

(c) the manner and specification for the capturing of spatial information, including any application for exemption from such manner or specification;

(d) measures relating to the avoidance of duplication of capture, safeguarding the integrity of captured spatial information, and access to and distribution of spatial information; and

(e) any administrative or procedural matter necessary to give effect to the objects of this Act.

(2) The Minister must, before making, amending or repealing any regulation under subsection (1), publish the proposed regulation, amendment or repeal once in the Gazette and call for written comments by any interested party to be provided within 30 days after such publication.

[Commencement of s 20: 8 May 2006.]

21. Liability

No person is liable for anything done in good faith in the exercise or performance or purported exercise or performance of any power or duty in terms of this Act.

[Commencement of s 21: 8 May 2006.]

22. Short title

(1) This Act is called the Spatial Data Infrastructure Act, 2003.

[Commencement of s 22: 8 May 2006.]