Section 32 of the Constitution provides for everyone right to access any information held by the state and any information that is held by another person and that is required for the exercise or protection of any rights.

Section 32 of the Constitution further provides that national legislation must be enacted to give effect to the right of access to information and that such legislation may provide for reasonable measures to alleviate the administrative and financial burden on the state.

In 2000, in fulfilment of the provisions of section 32 (2) of the Constitution, the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) came into effect.

Section 14 of PAIA requires the a body to compile a manual which contains a description of its structure and functions, contact details of the information officer, lists of what records the body holds together with a list of categories of records, a list of categories of records automatically available and a list of services available to the public. It provides that the manual must be made available to the public.

Section 14 further requires that the manual must be made available on the web site, if any, of the public body.

The purpose of the manual is to inform members of the public about structure and the functions of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature, contact details of the Information Officer, list of records held by the ECPL list of automatically available information that can be obtained and services available from the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature.