E-government implications for records management in Africa – a review of literature

Abstract

Increasingly, governments all over the world are adopting e-government by deploying Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to carry out their activities and operations. Consequently, there has been an increase in the volumes of electronic records created. These records must be managed through systems providing constant intellectual and physical control in order to ensure that they remain accessible over time. This would therefore call for among other things the formulation and implementation of records management policies, adoption of records management standards and developing staff capacity through education and training. The literature reviewed showed that if these records are managed well, efficiency in the public sector could be achieved. However, the literature also revealed that African countries are faced with a myriad of challenges that could undermine success of e-government initiatives in the continent. These challenges include the following: fragility and transient nature of the storage media, absence of records management policies, difficulty in maintaining integrity of the records and technical skills requirements to name but a few.