Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

MPK Development (Pty) Ltd (Registration No. 2014/091288/07), a Technology Architecture Studio based in Polokwane, South Africa ("MPK Development," "we," "us," or "our"), is committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) and all other applicable South African legislation.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect personal information when you visit or interact with our website at www.mpkdevelopment.co.za ("the Website"), when you correspond with us by email, and when you otherwise engage with us as a prospective or existing client, supplier, or contact.

This Policy applies regardless of the channel through which we process your personal information, including our website, email correspondence, and any other written or verbal communication with MPK Development.

2. Information Officer

Our designated Information Officer is:

• Name: Pieter Klynsmith
• Email: info@mpkdevelopment.co.za

You may direct any POPIA-related queries or access/correction requests to the Information Officer.

3. Personal Information We Collect

We may collect the following categories of personal information:

• Contact information: name, email address, company name, and message details submitted via enquiry or contact forms.
• Email correspondence: personal information contained in emails you send to or receive from us, including your name, email address, and the contents of that correspondence, whether or not you have visited the Website.
• Prospective client and proposal information: details you provide when requesting a quotation, describing a project, or discussing a potential engagement, including business requirements, timelines, and budget indications. We treat this information as confidential business information, in addition to it being personal information where applicable.
• Technical data: IP address and standard request information recorded in our web server logs for security and reliability purposes. We do not use analytics tools and do not track your browsing behaviour.
• Local storage: a single item recording that you have seen our cookie notice (see our Cookie Policy).
• Any other information you voluntarily provide when contacting us.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from persons under the age of 18 without verifiable parental consent.

4. Purpose of Processing

We process your personal information only for the following lawful purposes:

• To respond to enquiries and provide information about our services.
• To prepare quotations, proposals, and scope discussions for prospective engagements.
• To comply with legal obligations under South African law, including tax and company law recordkeeping requirements.
• To send marketing communications where you have opted in or where a legitimate interest exists.
• To manage and maintain our business records.

5. Legal Basis for Processing

We process personal information on one or more of the following grounds under POPIA:

• Your consent.
• Contractual necessity (where you are a client, or a prospective client taking active steps toward an engagement).
• Legitimate interests pursued by MPK Development, balanced against your rights.
• Compliance with a legal obligation.

6. Sharing of Personal Information

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

• Service providers acting as operators on our behalf (for example, hosting providers and email delivery services), under data processing agreements requiring equivalent levels of protection.
• Regulatory authorities or law enforcement where required by law.
• Professional advisors such as attorneys and auditors, subject to confidentiality obligations.

Where personal information is transferred outside South Africa, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place as required by POPIA.

7. Retention of Personal Information

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by applicable law. As a general guide:

• Contact enquiry records that do not proceed to an engagement are generally retained for five years, in line with our standard business recordkeeping practice.
• Records relating to actual client engagements, quotations, invoices, and related correspondence are retained for the periods required under the Tax Administration Act, the Companies Act, and applicable SARS and CIPC recordkeeping requirements, currently a minimum of five years from the relevant transaction or filing.

You may request deletion of your information at any time, subject to these overriding legal retention obligations.

8. Security and Breach Notification

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

In the event of a security compromise that has, or is reasonably likely to have, compromised your personal information, we will notify you and the Information Regulator in accordance with the requirements of POPIA, as soon as reasonably possible after becoming aware of the compromise.

9. Your Rights

Under POPIA, you have the right to:

• Request access to personal information we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Request deletion or destruction of your personal information, subject to legal limitations.
• Object to the processing of your personal information.
• Withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa at inforegulator.org.za.

To exercise any of these rights, contact our Information Officer at the details in section 2.

10. Third-Party Links

Our Website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The effective date at the top of this document will reflect the date of the most recent revision. Continued use of the Website after changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Email Communications

Emails sent from MPK Development (Pty) Ltd and its employees may contain confidential information intended solely for the named recipient(s). If you have received an email from us in error, please notify the sender immediately, do not read, copy, use, or disclose the contents, and delete the email and any attachments from your system.

Nothing in any email from MPK Development constitutes professional, legal, or financial advice, nor does it create a binding offer, commitment, or Service Agreement unless accompanied by a formally executed written agreement signed by an authorised representative of MPK Development.

Views or opinions expressed in emails from individual employees are their own and do not necessarily represent the official position of MPK Development (Pty) Ltd unless expressly stated.

While we take reasonable precautions, MPK Development accepts no liability for loss or damage resulting from software viruses in emails or attachments. We recommend scanning all incoming emails and attachments with appropriate security software prior to opening.

Personal information in email correspondence is handled in accordance with this Privacy Policy, including the retention periods in section 7.

13. Contact

For any questions about this Privacy Policy, contact: