managing electronic records in governmental bodies - National ...

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access, at all reasonable times, to all government records in the custody of a
governmental body. Where this involves electronic records the National Archives
and Records Service will seek the assistance of appropriate staff of the
governmental body to ensure that archival records are being kept in an accessible
way, and that the governmental body is maintaining the metadata, systems
documentation and contextual information necessary to preserve evidential values.
6.13 Erase electronic and related records only in accordance with a
disposal authority issued by the National Archivist.
No deletion/erasure of electronic records should be done without the assurance that
the records are no longer required, that no work is outstanding and that no litigation
or investigation or request which would involve the records in question in terms of
the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 is pending. Erasure should also be
done in such a manner that ensures protection of any information requiring special
security provisions. See also par. 5 fourth bullet and par. 6.4.
6.14 Manage Data Warehouses and Geographic Information Systems as
records
The management of these systems is also subject to the requirements of the
National Archives and Record Service of South Africa Act, (Act No. 43 of 1996 as
amended). Besides the guidelines contained in par 6.1 – 6.7 and 6.11 – 6.13
governmental bodies should assess the risk associated with the improper
management of and disposal of records from these systems, and resulting from the
risk assessment determine:
- how version control should be applied to these systems and
- how records of queries and the results of those queries should be
captured and
- what metadata should be captured for each record
The results of the risk assessment and recommendations should be documented.
Governmental bodies should ensure that these systems integrate with the Integrated
Document Management System to enable reliable records to be captured.
7. Managing electronic records without the benefit of an Integrated
Document Management System
Not many governmental bodies have the capacity to implement fully automated
Integrated Document Management Systems. This does not however mean that they
should not manage their electronic records. If these records are created to aid in
decision-making and to perform transactions that support the governmental bodies’
activities, governmental bodies are responsible for the proper management of those
records. If records generated in such an environment are not managed properly it
can lead to the possible illegal destruction of records. To enhance its accountability,
Managing electronic records_Policy Guidelines.doc
First Edition
Version 1.1
April 2003