Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are (Responsible Party)

GOVA is the Responsible Party under POPIA for the personal information collected and processed through our platform.

2. Personal Information We Collect

We collect personal information when you register for an account, update your profile or listing, send enquiries, or contact our support team. The types of personal information we may collect include:

• Identity information: Full name
• Contact information: Email address, phone number, physical address
• Business information: Company name, business type, province, city, website URL
• Account credentials: Encrypted passwords
• Usage data: How you interact with our platform, pages visited, features used
• Communications: Messages sent through enquiry forms or support channels

3. Why We Process Your Personal Information

We process your personal information for the following purposes:

• To create and manage your user account
• To publish and maintain Provider listings in our directory
• To facilitate enquiries between Transporters and Providers
• To process subscription payments and billing
• To send transactional emails (account verification, password resets, enquiry notifications)
• To improve and optimise our platform and services
• To comply with legal obligations under South African law
• To detect, prevent, and address fraud, security issues, or technical problems

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal information based on the following lawful grounds under POPIA:

• Contractual necessity: To provide the services you have requested and to fulfil our obligations under our Terms & Conditions
• Consent: Where you have given explicit consent for specific processing activities
• Legitimate interests: To improve our services, prevent fraud, and ensure platform security
• Legal obligation: To comply with applicable South African laws and regulations

5. Sharing of Personal Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your personal information with:

• Other Users: Provider contact details (company name, phone, email, address) are visible in public listings to facilitate enquiries from Transporters
• Trusted service providers: Third-party vendors who assist with hosting, payment processing, email delivery, and platform maintenance. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your data
• Legal authorities: When required by law, court order, or to protect our rights, safety, or property

6. International Transfers

Our hosted infrastructure and some service providers may process your personal information outside of South Africa. Where this occurs, we ensure that adequate safeguards are in place to protect your data in accordance with POPIA, including contractual protections and compliance with international data protection standards.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with our services. After you close your account, we will delete or anonymise your personal information within a reasonable period, unless we are legally required to retain it for longer (for example, for tax, accounting, or legal purposes).

8. Security

We take the security of your personal information seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it, including:

• HTTPS encryption for all data transmitted between your browser and our servers
• Hashed and encrypted passwords
• Access controls to limit who can view or process your personal information
• Regular security assessments and updates

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

9. Your Rights Under POPIA

Under POPIA, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right to access: You may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Right to correction: You may request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information
• Right to deletion: You may request that we delete your personal information, subject to legal retention requirements
• Right to objection: You may object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time
• Right to lodge a complaint: You may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator if you believe your rights have been violated

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@gova.co.za. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

10. Information Regulator

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal information, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa:

11. Cookies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to improve your experience on our platform and to analyse how our services are used. Cookies are small text files stored on your device that help us remember your preferences and understand user behaviour. You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings, but this may affect your ability to use certain features of our platform.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or platform features. When we make material changes, we will notify you via email or through a prominent notice on our platform. Your continued use of GOVA after such changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact our Information Officer: