Freedom of Information Act, 2020 (3) 12. Zimbabwe If representations have been made in terms of subsection (2)(d), an information officer shall, after due consideration of those representations, within five days of the representations being made, grant the request for access if there are reasonable grounds for believing that the applicant will suffer substantial prejudice if access to the information is deferred for the period referred to in subsection (2)(c). Information that cannot be found or does not exist (1) If an information officer has— (a) taken all reasonable steps to find the information requested; and (b) concluded that the information— (i) cannot be found; or (ii) does not exist; the information officer shall, within twenty-one days of the receipt of the request, notify the applicant in writing that the information cannot be found or does not exist. (2) 13. If information is found after notification of the applicant in terms of subsection (1), the information officer must notify the applicant in writing within fourteen days of the information being found and thereafter proceed in terms of section 8. Forms of access (1) Access to information must be given to an applicant in one or more of the following forms— (a) through a reasonable opportunity to inspect the information; or (b) by way of a copy of the information; or (c) in the case of information that is an article or thing by means of which sounds or visual images are capable of being reproduced, by making of suitable arrangements for the person to hear, view, record or copy those sounds or visual images including by means of braille and sign language; or (d) in the case of information by which words are recorded in a manner in which they are capable of being reproduced in the form of sound or in which words are contained in the form of shorthand writing or in codified form, by the provision of a written transcript; or (e) in the case of information which is held on a computer, or in electronic or machine-readable form, and from which the entity concerned is capable of producing a printed copy of the information or part thereof, by supplying such a copy; or (f) in the case of information available or capable of being made available in computer readable form, by supplying a copy in that form. (2) Subject to subsection (4), where an applicant has requested access to information in a particular form, access must be given in that form. (3) An applicant may amend their preferred form of access (on payment of any reproduction, translation or transcription fees payable) if access has been granted in the form initially requested. (4) If giving access to information in the form requested by an applicant is likely to— (a) unreasonably interfere with the operations of the entity concerned; or (b) be detrimental to the preservation of the information; or (c) be inappropriate, having regard to the physical nature of the information; access in that form may be refused if access is given in another form authorised under this Act. By Laws.Africa and contributors. Licensed under CC-BY. Share widely and freely. 7