Records management audit: The case of Gaborone city council

This study aimed at auditing records management practices atGaborone City Council (GCC). The study sought to establish howrecords are created, used, maintained and disposed of at GCC. Italso sought to determine the usage of information communicationtechnologies in the creation, maintenance, use and disposition ofrecords, the existence or non-existence of records management policiesand procedures, as well as records security measures at GCC. Acase study methodology was used and questionnaires were distributedto 35 officers selected from senior members of staff and records/administrative personnel. Personal observations were carried out andinterviews were conducted to substantiate data gathered from thequestionnaires. The study revealed that GCC lacks organization-widepolicies and procedures for the creation, use, maintenance and dispositionof records resulting in uncoordinated procedures for managing its records and that most of the processes for managing records were manual. The study recommends that GCC develops and implements Council-wide records management policies and procedures to ensure the creation and maintenance of authentic, reliable, complete and useable records, capable of supporting business functions and activities for as long as they are needed