Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Masters Degree in Information Studies, Department of Library & Information Studies, University of Zululand, South Africa, 2011. / The aim of this study was to investigate records management practices in government ministries
in the Kingdom of Swaziland. The study sought to determine how records are generated, used
and disposed of in the government ministries; the types of records that are generated within the
Swaziland government; how the records are organized and retrieved; the training needs of the
Swaziland government’s registry staff; the attitude of staff towards records management
practices; the level of staff awareness sound records management practices; the suitability of
records storage facilities; and the challenges of e-records management in the government of
Swaziland.
A mixed method research paradigm consisting of a survey and observation was used to carry out
the study. The target population consisted of action officers and records officers (registry staff)
from government ministries in Swaziland. 92 action officers and 29 registry staff were involved
in the study. 31 of the action officers were from top management, 31 from middle management,
and 30 from lower level management.
The results revealed that government ministries in Swaziland do not practice sound records
management in line with the Swaziland National Archives Act (No. 5 of 1971). There was no
uniformity with respect to filing methods and the manner in which records were destroyed or
deleted. There were no control measures for ensuring the care and safe custody of records.
Electronic records management policy, filing procedure manuals and a disaster recovery plan did
not exist at the time of writing. The lack of records management practices directly and indirectly
affects the information flow within the ministries.
It is expected that the findings of this study will inform policy on records management in the
government of Swaziland; facilitate effective records management in the government; create
awareness about sound records management; help inform a records management training plan;
and help establish integrity and transparency in the functioning of government. The study recommends that research should be extended to parastatal organisations in Swaziland
to ensure that the management of records, both in the government and the public sector, is
harmonized to enhance service delivery, accountability and transparency in the management of
the country’s public affairs.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uzulu/oai:uzspace.unizulu.ac.za:10530/1113 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Tsabedze, Vusi W. |
| Contributors | Mutula, S., Jacobs, D. |
| Publisher | University of Zululand |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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