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Terms of Use

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Access to public information

Terms of use for the Western Cape Government digital channels

These are the terms for the use of the following current Western Cape Government (WCG) digitally enabled channels

These terms apply whenever you make use of our channels, regardless of how you access them. By using these channels, you are deemed to have accepted these conditions.

These terms of use may be updated from time to time, please ensure that you refer back to this page.

Copyright

The South African Constitution instructs  organs of state to share information as widely and cost-effectively as possible.

The WCG (further referred to as “we’) allows you to reproduce material freely as set out in the Copyright Licence below.

Copyright Licence

All material featured on the Digital Experience Platform is subject to copyright in accordance with the Copyright Act of 1978.

There is no copyright in:

  • Official texts of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, including their official translations.
  • Speeches of a political nature.
  • Speeches delivered in the course of legal proceedings.
  • News of the day, which is a mere item of press information.

All other content must be considered as a WCG Copyright. You may however freely reproduce material subject to the following:

Non-commercial:

You may reproduce written copyright material (except that belonging to third parties) on the WCG digital channels   for non-commercial purposes in any format or media without obtaining permission. This reproduction must be accurate and not presented in a derogatory manner or misleading context. The source must be acknowledged including the URL and copyright status of the material.

Commercial:

Permission to reproduce content for commercial purposes may be granted subject to a written request to service@westerncape.gov.za

This licence to reproduce written material does not include copyright material owned by a third party (this will usually be indicated by the © symbol attached to the name of the copyright holder). You must obtain their permission to reproduce such material from the relevant copyright holder.

Links to other Digital Experience Platforms

WCG channels may contain links to other digital sites and services that may be of interest to you. Once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not exercise any control over the other external websites. The WCG cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information that you provide whilst visiting such sites. As such sites are not governed by our terms of use, you should exercise caution and read through their privacy statements.

Contact details

Please contact service@westerncape.gov.za for queries about obtaining any of the permissions described in these terms of use.

Limitation of liability

We strive to ensure that our material is up to date and accurate. Please do not rely on any content on the WCG digital channels without first confirming with us, as information tends to change over time. We will not be liable for any loss caused as a result of your doing, or not doing, anything as a result of using the material or any part of it.

Please ensure that you have adequate anti-virus protection when using any device or software including the WCG digital channels. The WCG cannot be liable for any online security related losses.

Recommended browsers and supported devices

Our applications are best viewed using the latest versions of the following web browsers: Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari.

While we strive to make our information easily available on mobile devices and tablets, please use your laptop or desktop for better user experience.

Language availability

We aim at making our information accessible on our channels by providing content in plain English (plain language), and where possible isiXhosa and Afrikaans. Where information does not have translations for isiXhosa and Afrikaans, you can request translations through our  contact centre.

Privacy (POPI Act)

We respect your privacy and protect your personal information, as defined in the Protection of Personal Information Act of 2013.

Personal information provided by you through one of our channels will only be shared for purposes of resolving your enquiries, providing you with services or for any other legitimate purpose relating to the WCG’s functions.

Some non-identifying data is automatically collected by the Digital Experience Platform and our social media channels.

This data may include: your browser type, access times, referring online addresses and viewed pages.

This information is collected help improve our online channels and improve our services.

The WCG digital channels use a “cookie” to save your language preference. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a webpage server. Cookies cannot be used to run programmes or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.

You can accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser settings to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, your language choice will not be automatically selected each time you return to our Digital Experience Platform.

No other cookies other than the language cookie are used by our Digital Experience Platform. No other information is collected by the WCG digital channels without your knowledge. We will not pass on any individual user details we may have obtained, unless we have your prior consent.

We only share anonymous aggregate statistics about our users and traffic patterns. We are not responsible for any breach of security or for the actions of third parties.

Response times

Our operating hours across all channels are Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays, 7:30am to 4pm.

We aim to respond in acknowledgement to enquiries, within 1 hour when received during operating hours, and further endeavour to resolve enquiries within 36 hours. We accept no liability for responses provided outside of these hours.

Use of AI bot services 

By accessing or using our AI bot service, you acknowledge and agree to the following terms:

  1. Information Accuracy: Our AI bot reads content available on our site and provides responses based on its understanding of the content. While we strive for accuracy, we cannot guarantee the completeness, accuracy, or reliability of the information provided by the AI bot. Users are advised to verify critical information through additional sources.
  2. No Legal Advice: The information provided by our AI bot is not intended to constitute legal, financial, medical, or any other professional advice. Users should not rely solely on the responses provided by the AI bot for making decisions. Consult appropriate professionals for specific advice tailored to your individual circumstances.
  3. Limited Liability: We disclaim all liability for any reliance placed on the responses provided by our AI bot. We shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising out of or in any way connected with the use or inability to use the AI bot service.
  4. Privacy: By using our AI bot service, you agree that we may collect and process personal data as described in our Privacy Policy. We may use this data to improve the functionality and performance of the AI bot and for other purposes outlined in our Privacy Policy.
  5. User Conduct: Users agree not to misuse or abuse the AI bot service. This includes but is not limited to attempting to disrupt the service, reverse-engineering the AI bot, or using the service for any unlawful or unethical purpose.
  6. Changes to Terms: We reserve the right to modify or update these terms of use at any time without prior notice. By continuing to use the AI bot service after such changes, you agree to be bound by the revised terms.

By accessing or using our AI bot service, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to these terms of use. If you do not agree with any part of these terms, you must not use the AI bot service.

Opting in and out of social media communication

By ‘liking’ our pages or following our WCG social media accounts, you consent to receive posts on your newsfeed and other forms of communication. You have the option to opt-out of receiving further communication from us by unliking or unfollowing our page/s.

Community behaviour on our social media channels

Our social media channels encourage open dialogue, however engagement on our social media channels must be done respectfully and with consideration for other participants engaging on our various channels.

Online behaviour that infringes on the South African Constitution’s Equality Clause or legislation regarding hate speech will not be tolerated.

The WCG reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to remove material at any time that is in any way unlawful, threatening, offensive, bigoted, libellous, obscene, and prejudicial to active legal proceedings, in contempt of court, otherwise objectionable or in breach of any obligations of confidence or copyright.

The WCG reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to block members or participants who contravene these terms of use.

The WCG does not endorse any opinions expressed on our channels, nor does it undertake to monitor the conduct and communication of every engagement or correspondence.

Choice of law

These terms of use are governed by South African law and South African courts.