E‐government and records management: an assessment tool for e‐records readiness in government
| Published date | 12 June 2007 |
| Pages | 274-284 |
| Date | 12 June 2007 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470710754797 |
| Author | Nathan Mnjama,Justus Wamukoya |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
E-government and records
management: an assessment tool
for e-records readiness in
government
Nathan Mnjama and Justus Wamukoya
Department of Library and Information Studies, University of Botswana,
Gaborone, Botswana
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to indicate that, with the proliferation of information
communication technologies (ICT), electronic records are being generated in many public sector
organisations in Africa, which has resulted in many challenges hitherto never experienced by
archivists and records managers.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews literature on ICT, records management and
e-governance and the challenges faced by archivists and records managers particularly in developing
countries as they deal with records generated by ICT.
Findings – The paper shows that, while many governments have systems and procedures for
managing paper-based records, the same cannot be said for electronic records and other digital images.
Practical implications – The paper demonstrates that, without proper planning and adoption of
various methods, e-records created using modern ICT are likely to become inaccessible in the future,
thus compromising the ability to remain accountable to the citizens.
Originality/value – The paper shows that, while various e-records readiness tools are available in
the West, none of them addresses e-records readiness issues in Africa where systems and procedures
for managing records both paper and electronic are inadequate. The article provides a simple tool for
assessing a country’s e-readiness for the adoption of e-records in an e-government environment.
Keywords Records management,Electronic document delivery,Government, Assessment, Aftrica
Paper type Literature review
Introduction
An increasing number of governments all over the world are adopting modern
information communication technologies (ICT) as a tool for providing effective and
efficient services to their citizens. As a corollary to this, there has been a shift in the
manner of how information is collected, processed, stored and disseminated. However,
the adoption of these modern ICTs in managing records has often been haphazard
without due consideration on the impact they have in such management. This article
begins by examining the role of e-records as a tool for government, assesses the
challenges of managing e-records and develops a simple tool for assessing e-records
readiness within an e-government environment. It argues that to assess whether a
government is ready for e-records, it must examine, among many things, the legal and
regulatory framework, the physical infrastructure, procedures for collecting,
processing, storing and disseminating e-records, the staffing and training levels and
issues relating to the long-term storage and accessibility of e-records.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0264-0473.htm
EL
25,3
274
Received 12 January 2006
Revised 5 October 2006
Accepted 13 October 2006
The Electronic Library
Vol. 25 No. 3, 2007
pp. 274-284
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/02640470710754797
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