Open government relies heavily on reliable records to uphold service delivery and access
to information. Without proper records management of business transactions and
activities of an organization, the primary objective of openness becomes obscured and
difficult to achieve. Within the digital space and environment, establishing good record-
keeping procedures is challenging to both paper and e-records, because of a scarcity of
clarity in the processes and measures in place, as well as as a result of lack of suitable
ICT infrastructure plus skilled human resources to help facilitate good e-records
management. The aim of this research was to provide a structure for the integration of
records into open government initiatives in Botswana with the aim of assisting access to
information and service delivery, and a subsequent transparent, accountable and open
government. This is a mixed research study framed within the interpretivism
epistemological inquiry model, and used Open Government Implementation Model and
Action research being a theoretical lense in this study. Document analysis was used to
gather information, complemented by interviews and questionnaires with participants and
respondents alike purposively selected from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural
Development (MLGRD).
According to the findings, the legislative as well as regulatory frameworks in order to
manage both paper and e-records were available in Botswana although inadequate.
Similarly, the research showed that legislation that gives the citizens access to
information and subsequently make compulsory for organizations to avail information
upon request is absent. Furthermore, it was established through the study findings that
information management practitioners are particularly are ill equipped and inexperienced
to manage paper and electronic records. Due to the inavailability of ICT infrastructure to
help facilitate both paper and e-records management was noted. In addition, open
government initiatives were identified as producing e- records, but there were no defined
protocols to help aid in their management. Therefore, this weakness can be addressed
by integrating records management into open government initiatives, and be able to utilize
suitably identified Enterprise Content Management (ECM) or Electronic Document and
Records Management System (EDRMS). Currently, open government remains ensured
through the reliance of only open government initiatives, without leveraging on good
records management.
This project study suggests a structure to integrate records management into open
government initiatives anchored on legislation and regulatory frameworks with the
confidence that its employment would support better information and service accessibility
by the citizens. Finally, because of poor records management and a lack of legislation
that encourage access to information, there will be continued reliance on the discretion
of records professionals by the citizens to have information access. Similarly, without
proper records management procedures, Information Communication Technologies
(ICTs) will remain underutilized. Thus, it is a recommendation that MLGRD should
develop proper records management procedures to guide and improve on the
management of records. A further study to establish the level of e-readiness of the
Botswana government to fully automate and guarantee the success of open government
is recommended. / Information Science / D. Litt et Phil (Information Science)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/27384 |
| Date | 22 October 2020 |
| Creators | Mothlasedi, Nna Yves Caesar |
| Contributors | Ngoepe, M., Wallace, D. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (xvi, 310 pages) : color illustrations, application/pdf |
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