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This paper presents the challenges of post custodial management of digital records in the context of Botswana. This is a qualitative study which used a focused review literature supplemented by interviews with seven (7) purposively selected records management experts. The study has revealed that the post-custodial management of digital records is a challenging vocation in Botswana. Such challenges include poor information and communication technology infrastructure, lack of capacity for digital records management, and an inadequate legal and policy framework conceptualized upon the capability to guide digital records preservation. These challenges suggest that records creating agencies may not be prepared and capacitated to manage digital records in a post custodial context. This study recommends that funds be made available to Botswana National Archives and Records Services to set up a digital archive that meets best practice standards in digital records preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how the trustworthiness of digital records generated in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system known as the government accounting and budgeting system (GABS) is maintained to support the audit process in the public sector of Botswana. Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative study used modern archival diplomatics as a theoretical framework to examine the procedures for authenticating digital accounting records in GABS to support the audit process in Botswana. Data were collected through interviews and documentary reviews. Findings: The study established that although GABS is not a record-keeping system, it generates digital records. In the absence of procedures, auditors rely on social and technical indicators (system application controls) to authenticate records. Research limitations/implications: The findings of the study are limited to the case study and cannot be generalised to other organisations. Practical implications: The findings of the study can inform the necessary measures that can be taken to ensure that digital records generated in ERPs are maintained authentic to support financial auditing processes. In addition, the paper also presents differing approaches by records managers, auditors and information technology specialists to evaluate the authenticity of records in digital systems, thus contributing to the literature about professional allies and competitors to archivists and records managers. Originality/value: This paper provides empirical evidence from an original study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data protection legislation is concerned with the safeguarding of privacy rights of individuals in relation to the processing of personal data, regardless of media or format. The Government of Botswana enacted the Data Protection Act in 2018 for purposes of regulating personal data and to ensure the protection of individual privacy as it relates to personal data, and its maintenance. This paper investigates opportunities and challenges for records management, and recommends measures to be put in place in support of data protection, through proper records management practices. The study employed a desktop approach and data was collected using content analysis. The study found that opportunities such as improved retrieval and access to information, improved job opportunities for records management professionals and a conducive legislative framework are available. It also revealed that a lack of resources to drive the records management function, limitations in electronic document and records systems and a lack of freedom of information to regulate access to public information by members of the public is still a challenge. The study recommends the employment of qualified records management staff with capacity to manage records in the networked environment for purposes of designing and implementing records management programmes that can facilitate compliance with the requirements prescribed by the Data Protection Act. [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]

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are often implemented in the public sector value chains for purposes of improving business processes. In 2004, the government of Botswana implemented the Government Accounting and Budgeting System (GABS), an ERP to facilitate improved management of financial records. The custodian of the system is the Accountant General's Department (AGD) in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MFED). This descriptive study adopted a qualitative approach and collected data through interviews and documentary analysis. The study sample was selected purposively from six (6) departments with the mandate of each as a determining factor in relation to answering the research questions. The collected data were analysed thematically in accordance with research objectives. The main purpose of this study was to investigate records management practices related to the management of authentic digital accounting records generated and stored in GABS to support the audit process in Botswana's public sector. The study revealed that although there is a national legislative and policy framework in place, it has not been operationalised through guidelines and procedures to guide the management of digital records generated by the system. Furthermore, records retention and disposal through the system have not been catered for, resulting in the system being clogged by old records since it was commissioned in 2004. Amongst others, this study recommends the development and implementation of guidelines and procedures to guide the management of records produced by the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, public sector organizations are implementing records management systems with a view of improving service delivery. However, adoption and use of these systems has been found to be wanting. This study investigated the factors that influence the adoption and usage of a Document Workflow Management System at the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Botswana using a modified Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) as a theoretical lens. The study adopted a survey research design hinged on a positivist approach. A questionnaire, with both open and closed-ended questions, was administered to all 61 Action Officers (with response rate of 87%) who were the key users of the system. The findings of the study indicate that the four major UTAUT constructs accounted for 55% of the variance in explaining behavioural intention to adopt and use the Document Workflow Management System. The study found technophobia, negative attitudes to system use, perceived system complexity and incompatibility with existing information systems as key factors contributing to low adoption and usage of the system. The study proposes a conceptual adoption framework that may be used to guide research and practice in similar contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quest by the Government of Botswana to leverage the benefits brought about by the utilization of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the delivery of public services has seen an increase in the implementation of electronic document and records management systems (EDRMS) in the public sector. According to the Commonwealth of Australia (2011), an EDRMS is a software application that manages a range of digital information, including word-processed documents, spreadsheets, emails, images and scanned documents. It combines the features of an electronic records management system and an electronic document management system. The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) implemented an EDRMS, called the document workflow management system (DWMS), for its electronic records. Literature on the implementation of EDRMS shows that certain factors are critical for the adoption of EDRMS, which are referred to as critical success factors. They include top management support, good recordkeeping awareness and practice, early development of a records classification scheme, adequate and ongoing training and support, and well thought through change management strategies. This paper reports on the findings of an empirical study that investigated factors affecting the adoption and use of DWMS by action officers and records officers at the MTI. Although the study was mainly positivistic in nature and was supplemented by an interpretivist approach, this paper reports only the findings from interviews and documentary reviews. The study revealed that change management was poorly handled; top management support was partially lacking; a functional records classification scheme was hastily developed and put to use as part of DWMS implementation; training of system users was inadequate, to mention just a few. This paper posits that the EDRMS implementation is not just about dealing with technological factors as there are other non-technological factors that are critical for its success and these need to be well understood and appreciated by organizations as they contribute to the success of EDRMS implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cloud-based services are increasingly used by organisations around the world and Africa is no exception. Literature has revealed that organisations adopt them as they offer efficient and cost-effective services. Notably, Africa is generally at an infant stage in the adoption of cloud-computing services in records management. Objectives: This article presents and deliberates on the implications of cloud-computing services in archives and records management in Africa and determines whether such services are challenged by the inherent weaknesses faced by Africa in the digital age. Method: This study adopted a qualitative research approach. It utilised content analysis of the reviewed literature related to cloud computing in records management. Results: Cloud computing offers good tools for organisations to conduct businesses efficiently and improve their records management practices. However, issues related to records storage, jurisdiction, privacy, security and the digital divide, to mention a few, are a challenge that need to be surmounted if Africa is to benefit fully from cloud-based records management services. Conclusion: Although cloud-computing services in records management promise huge benefits for Africa, the continent is not ready to fully embrace such technologies and benefit from them. Actually, cloud-based records management services are an Achilles heel for Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]