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Archival materials are repeatedly consulted to settle disputes before the courts of law. The main purpose of the paper is to examine the use of archival materials in the ultimate settlement of the border dispute between Botswana and Namibia over the disputed ownership of the Sedudu/Kasikili Island. This paper took a qualitative approach where documentary review of archival materials and other documentary sources were used to answer the research questions. The findings indicate that archival materials in their various forms such as drawings, maps, plans, reports, scientific documents, and correspondence by colonial authorities played a significant role as evidence that informed the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to legally settle the boundary dispute between Botswana and Namibia. This paper also established the need for archivists to preserve the reliability and authenticity of records over time for them to be trusted as evidence. The fact that the case was solved with access to archival materials among other evidence presented, is an indication of the importance of archives in the society. Although this paper contributes to literature on the role of archives in the resolution of boundary conflicts, it is limited in that the findings are restricted to a review of archival materials in the holdings of the Botswana National Archives and Records Service (BNARS) exclusive of archival materials from the National Archives of Namibia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Authenticating digital records to support the audit process requires appropriate skills and competencies. The Government of Botswana implemented a government-wide enterprise resource planning (ERP) referred to as the Government Accounting and Budgeting System (GABS) in order to improve financial management in the public sector. However, records professionals and auditors are not trained on how to authenticate records stored in GABS. This qualitative study sought to establish the skills and competencies required to authenticate digital accounting records in GABS. Interviews were conducted with a purposively selected sample of records management professionals, information and communication technology (ICT) professionals, and auditors from the Department of Botswana National Archives and Records Services, Accountant General's Department, Department of Internal Audit, Office of the Auditor General of Botswana, Department of Corporate Services and the Department of Information Technology (DIT). The study established that digital forensic knowledge of the types of integrity, processes of access, reproduction, identification and extraction is needed in order to authenticate digital records. However, such skills are lacking in the public sector in Botswana among records professionals and auditors. The study recommends continuous capacity-building training for records management professionals and auditors to enable them to keep up with technological developments and to operate effectively in the face of the everchanging ICTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]