Not all documents are records. One of the central concerns of contemporary governance is the reduced or complete lack of accountability among public officials when rendering public services. In the absence of accountability and records, corruption thrives. This research examines the relationship that exists between transparency, accountability and record keeping in order to find the effect that records has; in terms of producing positive audit outcomes and in eliminating corrupt activities by public official/s. Since the transition to democracy in South Africa, the new constitution demands transparency and accountability on matters of governance supported with available information (records). Various pieces of legislation in South Africa are available in support of timely, accessible and accurate information in pursuit of official duties. The difficulty in ensuring an effective record keeping creates an opportunity for governance, transparency and accountability to fail. The essence of this research undertaking was motivated by the fact that, absence of records (which has a negative effect in achieving clean audits) renders governance chaotic and infringes on the democratic principles enshrined in the Constitution such as accountability and transparency. The purpose of the study was to investigate the practice of record keeping in the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Basic Education (ECDoE) in ensuring accountability and transparency. This research undertaking was guided by the following three research questions: (1) what is the legal/normative framework that governs record keeping in South African public service? (2) How does ECDoE practice record-keeping in ensuring accountability and transparency? And (3) how does the practice of ECDoE’s record-keeping compare with the requirements of the legal/normative framework? After all the gathering of information from different sources, it is therefore recommended that the ECDoE send its employees for records management courses and there must be strict adherence to legislation and recommendations made by the Auditor General in his last audit report for the department. During the conduct of this research undertaking, these are the findings that emerged from the study: at the ECDoE (1) There is no adequate training provided to employees in record keeping. (2) There are ineffective internal control systems. (3) There is no risk management contingency plan. (4) There is no proper record keeping. (5) There is non-compliance with legislation by officials. (6) There is no strong or effective leadership. (7) There is shortage of staff and qualified personnel. (8) Lack of commitment to excel. (9) No significant corrective action undertaken to eliminate past inaccuracies. (10) There is absence of following up on recommendations made by the external audit. Lastly, the researcher accepts the arguments raised by the different authors about record keeping, transparency and accountability in that: there can be no accountable and transparent government without an effective record-keeping in place. Records are vital sources of evidence admissible to any institution be it a court of law or standing committees should clarity be required.

The aim of this one-year master thesis in archival science was to examine how municipalities take regulations concerning public records into account when they use Facebook. Another aim was to examine the involvement of archivists, registrars or similar staff in the management of the regulations. Since Swedish archival theory and practice has a close connection to the application of these regulations, such an examination was hopefully going to reveal tendencies of importance for archival science. The method used to collect information was a web questionnaire and the result was based on answers from 21 municipalities with an official Facebook page. The questionnaire showed that six of the municipalities regarded documents originating from their Facebook page as public records. Three did not, and a large group had not yet decided how to treat these documents. Only three municipalities did archive documents from Facebook. The involvement of archivists, registrars and similar personnel was generally very small, even though regulations concerning public records had more often been taken into account in the municipalities that had informed this personnel about the use of an official Facebook page. The difference in management between the municipalities was together with the demand for national guiding principles indicating difficulties in applying the regulations to social medias like Facebook. The fact that most of the municipalities that had taken the regulations into account had come to the conclusion that Facebook generated public records, together with the fact that national guiding principles presented during the work with this thesis had the same interpretation, indicated that documents originating from Facebook will be a part of Swedish public records in the future. The difference in management and the demand for guidance also indicated a need for better division of responsibilities and a more active approach in the future, to ensure that the regulations concerning public records are taken into account early and correctly when authorities starts to use new medias.

The transfer of copies of vital event records into a government archives repository is necessary not only to ensure their ongoing preservation, but also to provide access and accessibility to them for all researchers in an appropriate setting. At present all vital event records gatekeepers in Canada, except two, do not have in place a system providing for such regular transferral. The central reason for this lack of process is the assumption that vital event records are somehow different in kind, and not just in type, from other public records that contain personal information. This thesis evaluates that assumption through an analysis of the history of vital statistics legislation and a comparative study of the privacy regime of that legislation with the legislative regime of access to information and privacy. Having done these two studies, the thesis then recommends a way in which legal transfer from the gatekeepers to the repository can be achieved. That recommendation is, first, that all discussion regarding access must be accomplished before their acquisition. Secondly, their acquisition and accessibility must be based upon the expiration of time—limits. / Arts, Faculty of / Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School of / Graduate

The right to privacy is the right of individuals to determine, within reasonable limits, the extent to which they are known to others. Over the last twenty years the enormous increase in the amount of personal information on citizens maintained in government record-keeping systems has led to increasing public concern for information privacy. Computer technology has contributed to the collection, preservation and use of massive bodies of highly detailed personal information documenting individual characteristics as well as a broad range of social transactions. Automated record-keeping systems permit the linking of personal information from a wide variety of government data banks, a capability which, civil libertarians fear, is vulnerable to abuse. The social contract underlying relations between citizens and the state requires that individuals surrender some measure of privacy in return for physical and social protection. But how far does that contract extend? Does the social contract which, implicitly, governs the collection of personal information in the interests of administering various social benefits, also entitle archivists, as the official keepers of government records, to permit subsequent uses of that information once its administrative usefulness has been exhausted? Social researchers, including social historians, take an affirmative position, arguing that the closure of records containing personal information is a violation of the principle of freedom of enquiry or the scholar's right to pursue and to communicate knowledge in the interest of a greater societal good. The question is, does freedom of enquiry possess the same moral value as the right to privacy? In situations where the two values conflict, where does the archivist's moral duty lie? The thesis will address these questions by examining the ethical justifications for and against research uses of personal information and the social role the archivist plays in mediating the competing moral claims for privacy and access. The thesis concludes that, in a democratic society, the right to privacy supersedes the scholar's freedom of enquiry. In situations where the two values conflict, archivists, as the public trustees of the record, must act on behalf of that public to ensure that the right to privacy is not violated. / Arts, Faculty of / Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School of / Graduate

This thesis begins by tracing the development of the practice of records scheduling in the federal governments of United States and Canada, from the initial concern with records disposal in the late eighteen hundreds, to the implementation of formal records schedules in the 1940s in the United States and the late 1950s in Canada. These federal initiatives provided a model for later developments at the state and provincial level. However, changes in scheduling methods have lately become necessary to meet the demands of the increasing volume of records, organizational complexity and change, and the widespread use of new media, particularly electronic records. Many of these changes have occurred at the provincial and state level, where the limited size of government has allowed the agencies responsible for scheduling to be more responsive and innovative. For this reason, analysis of current records scheduling practices in the provinces of British Columbia and Ontario, and the states of Washington and New York were conducted. These studies reveal schedules which are both flexible in their use and adaptable over time because they attempt to accommodate both records in all media and organizational change. Among the scheduling techniques examined are the addition of media specific elements, the use of functional schedule arrangement, the integration of schedules with other management tools, like classification, and the expanded use of general schedules for records common to more than one organization. These techniques are capable of dealing with the volume, complexity and variety of records which are being created in government today. Despite the changes demonstrated, the studies show that records scheduling remains a viable practice to control the life cycle of all records, from creation until disposal. Throughout this investigation, the role of archivists is discussed. Archivists' involvement in scheduling began with the earliest developments and continues still today. Archivists have been central to the initiation, development and adaptation of records scheduling in government. With the development of new information technologies, archivists' role is even more important, for they must intervene into the process of records creation if they want to maintain the ability to identify records of enduring value to society, and to ensure that their integrity is maintained throughout administrative procedures and use. / Arts, Faculty of / Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School of / Graduate

Ph.D. / Electronic government (e-Government), implemented towards transformation of public service delivery, aims to contribute to effective information management practices between the government and citizens and/or businesses. E-Government is not a panacea to problems associated with government service delivery and issues such as corruption, but it may go a long way in mitigating its existence in the public service delivery value chains. Many studies have documented the benefits associated with successful implementation of e-Government initiatives: it facilitates interactive, vertical, collaborative and participatory engagement of citizens, businesses and other governments, reducing the cost of service delivery; encourages global participation of citizens in the decision-making processes; provides an opportunity for governments to rethink and reformulate their administrative praxis and provides a framework where governments continuously re-engineer their business processes to retain currency and relevance to best practice. E-Government may further be utilised to mitigate corruption levels in the public sector. For example, the introduction of e-Procurement and e-Tendering can greatly reduce corruption in tendering processes. Zambia has started putting in place initiatives to aid e-Government implementation in the public delivery frameworks. Despite this being the case, there are no strategic initiatives to propagate e-Government. The motivation for this study stems from the fact that, apart from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) global e- Government assessments (at macro or global levels), little has been done to assess e- Government interventions and development in Zambia at the community, household, and individual level (that is, at micro levels). This being the case, factors to embed into the development of strategic initiatives for e-Government development in Zambia may not come from the present state of affairs on the ground. The UNDESA and other generic e- Government assessment models mostly assess e-Government readiness considering global metrics; in general, assessment is approached at a national level rather than at the micro level (such as a public organisation, community or individual level). With such generic e- Government assessment frameworks, the role of the private sector and other potential consumers of e-Government (such as citizens) is sometimes overlooked.

The struggle to liberate the continent of Africa from colonialism during the second half of the twentieth century represented an important epoch and as such this history needs to be documented accurately in whatever form for the benefit of posterity. Liberation struggle archives are of differing types and status, which reflects the diverse nature of the struggle itself. R ecords on the liberat ion struggles in Africa were created from within and outside Africa to document this historic ep och from the 1950s to the 1990s. These records have to be made available to the public for research, scholarship and general interest as they are a treasured na tional asset. In view of the above, it is the mandate of archivists to provide a means f or future generations to access historical sources . The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether liberat ion struggle archives are being offered the continuum of c are throughout their lifecycle in order to make such access possible . Considering that few records were created during the struggle for emancipation notwithstanding their neglect, it is therefore incumbent upon archivists to pres erve the legacy of the libe ration struggle that is contained in those few records that were created. The study used both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods. The study used methodological triangulation techniques in order to capture the phenomenon under study in detail. The study’s’ population were the twenty three archival institutions within east and southern Africa, both public and private that is, which generated a response rate of 39%. Due to the fact that the study population was geographically di spersed, the study employed self - administered questionnaires for data gathering . U nstructured interviews and observations were also used in a limited manner . The researcher administ ered an interview schedule to h e a ds of archival institutions within the eas t and s outhern African region. To complement the iii interviewing, an observation schedule was also used to record phenomena at selected archival institutions. T he data collected using qualitative techniques was content analyzed whilst SPSS was used for quanti tative data. The study unearthed some interesting developments. Liberation struggle archives had been identified and the requisite documentation put in place. T h is was evidenced by the restitution of archives which was an ongoing process albeit a problemat ic one. This process gives the overall picture that the liberation struggle was a global event as records are scattered in different parts of the world. The records so created are of varied nature as the media used to capture the record exists in a variety of forms with photographs predominant. The study also discovered that the arrangement of records was being done by qualified personnel, both archivists and manuscript librarians. In their efforts to promote access, most archival institutions employed a co mbination of finding aids with inventories and summary lists mostly used . Furthermore, t he existence of mechanisms, policies and procedures facilitates archival management practices. The present research established that all archival institutions had missi on statements and that th ese explicitly spelt out the mandate of the organizations . F or some institutions, these existed in written format. Formal p olices were generally in existence but were calibrated at various levels depending on an institution’s colle ction priorities. In this instance, the policy pertaining to digitization of liberation struggle archives was held in high regard and this explains why the majority of archival institutions preferred electronic media for duplicate copies . This preference p oints to the increasingly pervasive influence of digital technology. Archival institutions were liberal in their publication requirements though users had to acknowledge the institution as the source. The major challenge in the management of liberation str uggle records was the processing of backlog s . In addition, the study sought to establish whether archival institutions were providing resources in order to promote a n environment conducive to iv prolong ing the useable life of liberation struggle archives. The infrastructure in terms of knowledgeable and skilled personnel was in existence as the need for an academic background from which archival skills could be developed was given priority. The expertise in preservation management was mostly invested i n disast er planning and recovery, holdings maintenance and preservation planning . The research also established that the majority of archival institutions had a visitors ’ register in place al though its administration lacked consistency. The majority of archival in stitutions had air conditioning though maintenance records were non - existent. It was also noted that fumigation was prevalent and that restorative work was being done by the majority of institutions with the traditional technique s being the most popular. Equally important was the need to establish the preservation needs of the surveyed archival institutions. The study reve ale d that digitization was the most wid ely used preservation strategy and the majority of archival institutions had purpose - built storag e. Fire was considered the biggest threat to archival collections and the disaster plan mostly covered records, the physical building and the evacuation of people. Fire detection systems were in place and archival institutions were making use of their resp ective local fire departments to raise fire precautionary awareness and readiness. Security measures were generally in place though the use of Close Circuit Television ( CCTV ) , cameras and alarm systems was not pronounced. Furthermore, the study identified that information communication technologies had a transformative influence on the management of liberation struggle archives. The majority of the institutions were digitizing their collections though there was no written policy for managing these digital records. It was also established that most archival institutions were not migrating their records. Technological obsolescence and lack of resources were considered by most institutions as constituting the major threats to the survival of digital records an d this could be the reason why donor assistance v was sought as evidenced by the state of the art equipment on digitization infrastructure observed in some institutions visited . Equally significant was the revelation that inherent semantic ambiguities existe d in the legislative apparatus of the majority of archival institutions which partly explains why there was much passivity when it came to managing private records. The study further established that the management of private records was not satisfactory a nd areas noted for concern pertained to the arrangement, storage and custody, finding aids and access relating to these records . Finally, the study put forward a number of recommendations that had to be considered in an attempt to help archival institutio ns professionally manage liberation struggle archives , and two are cited here simply because they encapsulat e others . Firstly, the legislative apparatus had to be modernized in order for liberation struggle archives to be taken care of at national and not organizational level as is presently the case. The implication is that the laws that govern the national archives of countries within ESARBICA are wholly inadequate when it comes to the management of the private record. Lastly, the records continuum model formed the theoretical foundation of the study not only because of its holist ic approach, pragmatism and the fact that it is technologically driven but because it dovetailed with the records keeping issues which the study investigated . / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

An effective records management programme is a major element of the governance of any organisation. However, despite this crucial role played by records management, there is a consensus amongst researchers that many organisations, including government departments, pay little attention to the management of records. In South Africa, government departments are under legislative obligations to adopt a systematic and organised approach to the management of records. For example, the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act (Act No. 43 of 1996) requires government departments to develop, implement and maintain proper records management systems. The purpose of this study was to explore records management trends in the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) to establish if the Department was managing records according to legislative requirements. Data was collected through online questionnaires, physical observation and interviews with selected DPLG employees and analysed through an open source software. The key findings of the study revealed that an enormous benefit for the implementation of a records management programme is the commitment and support of top management. The study recommended that records management should be included in the performance contracts of all employees in the DPLG. The study concluded that a records management programme will only function effectively if it is developed as part of the strategic objective of the organisation. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Sxcience)

M. Tech. Business Information / Improved Data Quality Management is the desired outcome of managers for many government departments if not all. The constant use of manual systems, the utilization of legacy information systems, the results from departmental mergers and other agency acquisitions, by the South African government departments contributes significantly to poor data quality which leads to fruitless expenditure, fraud and corruption, duplication of processes, none-aligned departmental priorities and service delivery challenges. Literature reveals that there are documents that have been developed to manage the quality of data such as South African Quality Assessment Framework document, which guides and evaluates government organizations on how to achieve quality statistics focusing mainly on the meta-data; however they do not cover other dimensions of Data Quality Management. This research focuses into the strategy of Data Quality Management in government organizations and Data Quality Management tools applied using a conceptual model based on the Technology-Organization-Environment framework.

<p>The aim of this one-year master thesis in archival science was to examine how municipalities take regulations concerning public records into account when they use Facebook. Another aim was to examine the involvement of archivists, registrars or similar staff in the management of the regulations. Since Swedish archival theory and practice has a close connection to the application of these regulations, such an examination was hopefully going to reveal tendencies of importance for archival science. The method used to collect information was a web questionnaire and the result was based on answers from 21 municipalities with an official Facebook page. The questionnaire showed that six of the municipalities regarded documents originating from their Facebook page as public records. Three did not, and a large group had not yet decided how to treat these documents. Only three municipalities did archive documents from Facebook. The involvement of archivists, registrars and similar personnel was generally very small, even though regulations concerning public records had more often been taken into account in the municipalities that had informed this personnel about the use of an official Facebook page. The difference in management between the municipalities was together with the demand for national guiding principles indicating difficulties in applying the regulations to social medias like Facebook. The fact that most of the municipalities that had taken the regulations into account had come to the conclusion that Facebook generated public records, together with the fact that national guiding principles presented during the work with this thesis had the same interpretation, indicated that documents originating from Facebook will be a part of Swedish public records in the future. The difference in management and the demand for guidance also indicated a need for better division of responsibilities and a more active approach in the future, to ensure that the regulations concerning public records are taken into account early and correctly when authorities starts to use new medias.</p>