INDEX Pages 1. DESCRIPTORS... 1 2. KEY ROLE PLAYERS... 1 3. CORE FUNCTIONS OF THE RECORDS MANAGER... 1 4. CORE FUNCTIONS OF THE HEAD OF REGISTRIES... 1 5. PURPOSE... 2 6. OBJECTIVES... 2 7. POLICY... 2 8. REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT... 2-4 9. GUIDELINES... 4-7 10. EXPLANATORY NOTES... 7-8 11. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES... 8 12. DEFINITIONS... 8-11 13. POLICY REVISION... 11 14. CONTACT INFORMATION... 11 ********
1 POLICY POLICY TITLE: CATEGORY: RECORDS MANAGEMENT CORPORATE MANAGEMENT SERVICES INTRODUCTION The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality keeps and manages official records to support its business operations, as well as to fulfil legal and administrative obligations. The records will be managed by the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, in terms of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act No. 43 of 1996, as amended, from creation to disposition stage. 1. DESCRIPTORS 1.1 Information management 1.2 Records Management 1.3 Corporate Memory 2. KEY ROLE PLAYERS 2.1 Records Manager 2.2 Chief External Archives Operations 3. CORE FUNCTIONS OF THE RECORDS MANAGER (i) (ii) (iii) Formulation and maintenance of Departmental Records Management Policy. Implementation and maintenance of the Provincial Records Management Policy. Implementation and maintenance of the Departmental Integrated Document Management System. (iv) Managing of procedures and processes of the Departmental Registries - file plan, records control schedule and electronic records management system. (v) Training of staff at institutional level. 4. CORE FUNCTIONS OF THE HEAD OF REGISTRIES (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Managing of procedures and processes of head offices registries. Managing staff of head office registries. Ensure compliance with the department's file plan and policy. Training of head office personnel on the use of the file plan and policy. Implementation of MISS policy at registries.
2 5. PURPOSE To ensure an effective and efficient records management in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality and to secure the preservation of an appropriate record of the organization's policies and activities. 6. OBJECTIVES This policy establishes the corporate standards and requirements for the management of all official records. It promotes a systematic approach to records management within the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality and establishes a consistent and coherent regime of management processes for the whole extent of a records existence. 7. POLICY 7.1 Statement City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality will keep proper records of its business activity, to meet the needs and protect the interest of the Institution, its clients and others affected by its actions and decisions, and maintain its records in an approved record keeping systems. 7.2 Scope This policy defines areas where legislation, standards and best practice have application in the creation and management of records connected to the business activities and transactions of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. Records Management principles, practices and procedures will give effect to this policy and ensure that all corporate information can be readily identified, accessed and retrieved, and protected where it is of a sensitive, confidential or private nature. 8. REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality must take into consideration the regulatory environment in which it operates and applies this to its record keeping practice. This includes specific legislation affecting: Records creation and formats Records as evidence Records retention Records disposal Custody of records Control over access; and Accessibility.
3 8.1 National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act (Act 43 of 1996) (as amended) The National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act, charges the National Archives with the proper management and care of public records in the custody of governmental bodies. It specifies that no public record under the control of a governmental body may be transferred to an archives repository, destroyed, erased or otherwise disposed of without the written authorization of the National Archivist. It also requires the National Archives to preserve records with enduring value for use by the public and the State; make such records accessible and promote their use by the public; ensure proper management and care of all public records; promote an awareness of archives and records management and encourage archival and records management activities and generally promote the preservation and use of a national archival heritage. The act brings all electronic records under the authority of the National Archivist. This allows the National Archives to insist that mechanisms and procedures be put in place to ensure that archival records are identified while still functional and then preserved appropriately. Section 13(b)(I)-(iii) of the Act specifies that the National Archivist shall: Determine records classification systems to be applied by governmental bodies; Determine the conditions subject to which records may be microfilmed or electronically reproduces; and Determine the conditions subject to which electronic records systems should be managed. 8.2 Promotion of Access to Information Act (Act 2 of 2000) The Act gives effect to the access to information right in the 1996 Constitution, Section 32. The relevant clause reads: Everyone has the right of access to - Any information held by the state; and Any information that is held by another person and that is required for the exercise or protection of any rights. It lays down procedures from accessing information of government and private bodies. The Promotion of Access to Information Act, section 9 states that the Act must promote transparency, accountability and effective governance of all public and private bodies. The Act overrides any other act, which has a more restrictive approach to information.
4 The Human Rights Commission was tasked with some obligations in terms of this Act. One of these was to monitor the implementation of the Act, make recommendations and report to Parliament on these matters. It must also assist persons wherever applicable. 8.3 The Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (Act 3 of 2000) The purpose of this Act is to ensure that administrative action is lawful, reasonable and fair. To enable governmental bodies to comply with the provisions of this Act, they would keep proper records of administrative actions and decisions. 8.4 Public Finance Management Act (Act 1 of 1999) The purpose of this act is to regulate financial management in the government and to prevent corruption. Efficient records management practices are imperative if a body wants to give effect to the provisions of these acts. The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality must be able to retrieve the right information at the right time and retrieve all records that exist on a topic. It must also properly document all disposal action. 8.5 Electronic Transactions Act (Act 25 of 2002) To provide for the facilitation and regulation of electronic communications and transactions. 9. GUIDELINES 9.1 Accessibility 9.1.1 General Access Official files, restricted files excluded may be accesses by all City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality staff. 9.1.2 Restricted Access Confidential, sensitive or personal information is not placed on general access files. Records of this nature are held on restricted access files. Files, which are stamped "restricted access" are stored separately in a restricted area. A separate register for restricted files should be compiled; Approval for access to restricted files requires authorisation of the Head of Division or the Records Manager. In addition to any conditions set with regard to accessibility of records also refer to paragraph 9 of this policy with regard to the handling of records.
5 9.2 Accountability The principle that individual, organisations and the community are required to account to others for their actions. Organisations and their employees must be able to account to appropriate regulatory authorities, to shareholders or members, and to the public to meet statutory obligations, audit requirements, relevant standards and codes of practice, and community expectations through a structures records management environment, with property registries, approved fire plans and records control schedules implemented. 9.3 Best Practice The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality uses the National Archives and Records Services of South Africa's Records Management publications as a model for its record keeping principles and practice and as a bench mark to measure the effectiveness of its records management systems and program. 9.4 Responsibility The Manager: Corporate Admin has the authority to ensure compliance with external legislation and to assign responsibility for internal policy, practices and procedures. Senior and Line Managers must ensure that a proper record of business activity is created and is subsequently maintained as evidence of that activity. Staff must ensure that documents that form part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, official records are not placed in unofficial or private filing systems. All such documents are to be placed on official files. Staff is not permitted to remove documents, damage or in any other manner neglect, interfere with or destroy official records. The Records Manager has designated responsibility for corporate records, regulation of record-keeping practices and maintenance of policy and procedures that ensures that uniform protection is given to all records, regardless of media. The Records Manager also monitors changes in record-keeping legislation, guidelines, procedures and technology to assess the impact on the record-keeping processes. 9.5 Classification Only the plans that have been approved by the National Archivist may be used for both paper-based and electronic records. If difficulties are experienced with the allocation of reference numbers the Records Manager must be consulted. No revisions and additions may be made to the classification system without the Records Manager s approval.
6 9.6 Disposal of records No records of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality may be destroyed, erased or otherwise be disposed of without the prior written authorization of the National Archivist. The Records Manager in consultation with the functionaries is responsible for the determination of retention periods. The Records Manager must be consulted in case a dispute arises on the allocation of a retention period. Archival-valued paper-based records must be kept for a period of 20 years before they are transferred to the National Archives Repository, unless agreement on a shorter retention period has been reached with the National Archives. Electronic records with archival value can either be transferred to an appropriate archives repository for permanent preservation as soon as possible after creation, or at such a time as specified by the National Archivist or in a proven-archival medium such as paper or microform. Alternatively, the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality can preserve their own archival electronic records and maintain their functionality permanently. 9.7 Custody Every governmental body which falls under the stipulations of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act, no. 43 of 1996 (as amended) is required to establish a proper Registry area for the safe-keeping of its records. City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality registry as well as specific department s registries will be responsible for the safekeeping and custody of their respective department s official records. Records indicated with restricted access shall be kept in office of the Manager or Head of the Division. The storage conditions for Registries and any other storage area must comply with standards set by the National Archives and Records Services: 9.8 Security All records should be stored in secure areas to prevent theft or vandalism. 9.8.1 Electronic Records Electronic records management software must provide the functionality to record all events that affect the records to make it possible to track deliberate or accidental alterations of records. A systematic back-up procedure is imperative. 9.8.2 The National Archivist must immediately be informed about any losses of public records.
7 9.9 Training To achieve full benefit from records keeping system, all affected staff should be thoroughly trained and orientated in their use. Training project should take place into account: Records Management training courses presented by the National Archives. Revision training after implementation. On-going training for new staff. Project Management. Change Management. The Records Manager in conjunction with the official in charge of training will be responsible for the evaluation of Records Management training needs in the organisation. 9.10 Inspections by the National Archives The National Archives, subject to the exemption provision contained in section (13(2)(c)) of the National Archives and Records Services Act, Act 43 of 1996 (as amended), is entitled to full and free access, at all times, to all public records in the organisation s custody. No records of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality are exempted from the above-mentioned clause. 9.11 Evaluation Routines should be established for regular quality checks on the record-keeping system. These should cover maintenance of the quality of both existing and of newly captured records and the efficiency of current records management process. The Records Manager should carry out audits on the records management system as a whole City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality record-keeping, practices shall be evaluated and tested annually by means of a Records Audit. 10. EXPLANATORY NOTES 10.1 Records Records information, regardless of form or medium. Created or received by an organisation or person for use in the course of business and subsequently kept as evidence of business activity.
8 10.2 Records Management The discipline and organisational function of managing records to meet operational business needs, accountability requirements and community expectations. The management of records throughout its life cycle, which may include transfer and destruction or retention as archives. 10.3 Official Files Official files are the primary record keeping system for hard copy administrative and business records. They contain a documentary record of organisational activity, decisions and outcomes and as an information resource, support and facilitate decision-making. 10.4 Official Records Official records contain information which is of administrative, legal, fiscal, evidential or historical value and is not recorded elsewhere; evidence of decisions for which the institution is held accountable; formal communications and/or transactions between officers or between an officer and another party; copies of the institution s decisions and directives; information regarding personnel. 11. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES A registry Manual must be complied and submitted to the National Archivist for approval. The Registries will be operated according to the National Archives and Records Services approved Registry Procedure Manual that covers all aspects of the day to day management of a registry. 12. DEFINITIONS 12.1 Active Records Those records which are retrieved and consulted frequently, or which contain information of immediate relevance to the current activities of the organisation. 12.2 Appraisal The archival function of determining the eventual disposal of records. 12.3 Archives The whole body of records which are deemed to be of value to City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality or the State.
9 12.4 Classification The process of categorising business records in a systematic and consistent way to facilitate capture, retrieval and disposal. Classification includes the determination of file numbering and naming conventions, user permissions and security restrictions. 12.5 Disposal A range of processes associated with implementing appraisal decisions. These include the retention, deletion or destruction or records. They may also include the migration or transmission of records between record-keeping systems, and the transfer of custody ownership or records. 12.6 Disposal Plan A disposal plan allows for the orderly and controlled disposition of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality's records. The plan ensures that there are authorised disposal arrangements for records in all formats and systematic destruction methods and programs are in place. 12.7 Documents Structured units of recorded information, published or unpublished, in hard copy or electronic form, and managed as discrete units in information or record-keeping systems. 12.8 Duplicate Records Duplicate information held elsewhere or which has been transcribed to paper and accepted as a true and correct record by the persons concerned. 12.9 Electronic Records Records communicated and maintained by means of electronic equipment. 12.10 Electronic Messaging A general term covering all forms of electronically mediated communication. This includes electronic mail for text messages and an equivalent service that uses recordings of spoken messages known as voice messaging. It may also include computer conferencing and videotext. Also used as synonymous with electronic mail. 12.11 Ephemeral Records Those records, which are of short-term, temporary informational value with virtually no requirement for retention and can be disposed of when reference value ceases.
10 For example: Duplicates of documents for reference only Telephone messages of a routine nature Facsimile transmissions of a routine nature 12.12 Evidence Information that tends to prove a fact. Not limited to the legal sense of the term. 12.13 Legal Value The value inherent in records that provide legal proof of business transactions. 12.14 Non-Current or Inactive Records Records which have ceased to be used regularly in day-to-day administration. 12.15 Personnel Records Files, which carry all official information, kept within City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, relating to an employee, past or present. 12.16 Proper Records Records that are complete and accurate, and capable of providing organisational accountability when officially used. 12.17 Recordkeeping Making and maintaining complete, accurate and reliable evidence of business transactions in the form of recorded information. 12.18 Recordkeeping Systems Information systems, which capture, maintain and provide access to records over time. 12.19 Retention and Disposal Schedule A retention and disposal schedule is a systematic and comprehensive listing or records created by City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, which plans the life of those records from their creation to their disposal. It assigns the retention period for each series and specifies the action to be taken when they pass their use-by-date or become archives. 12.20 Storage Facilities for storing records for future retrieval and use, research or reference.
11 12.21 Tracking Capturing and maintaining information about the movement and uses of records. 12.22 Vital Records Vital records are those records, which, if destroyed, could seriously affect the viability and continuity of City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality operations. 12.23 Working Papers Documents which are drafts, calculations, notes or copies of documents that are assembled or created for use in the preparation or analysis of other documents, usually in a final version. 13. POLICY REVISION The officer responsible for developing and maintaining this policy is the Records Manager. The policy was drafted on 21 July 2006 and will be updated when there are changes in operating practices, the regulatory environment or necessary standards. 14. CONTACT INFORMATION Name & Surname : Lilian Netshandama Title : Functional Head: External Archives Tel (office) : 012 358 7357 Fax : 012 358 5360 Cellular : 072 654 0335 E-mail : LillianN@tshwane.gov.za