The Public Record Office (200 1 ) suggests that records, whether electronic or paper, pass through identifiable phases in their life cycle, frQ!Il �CJ-eation to final disposition At � each phase of the cycle, electronic records need to be actively managed according to established procedures, to ensure that they retain ualities of integrity, authenticity and
�e�iability (public Record Office 2001 ).
The life cycle describes the stag�s through which a record pas.S_es through from creation
� disPQsition. The concept is based on the premise that when records are created their creators intensively use them. Thus they need to be stored as close as PQ.Ss.ihle.l.o....t.heir users. With the passage of time this use decreases and the enter into the semi active
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�age,_where they can be stored in less expensive space, away from their users. Ultimately the enter the d· SlWsal stage, when they are no longer of any use to their creators (Chinyemba 2002: 35).
Mnjama ( 1996: 25) pointed out that records pass through three main stages. The first stage involves records creation. At this stage records are created and maintained to serve
day-to-day administrative functions of the creating office. As the need to consult records decreases, the records enter their semi-active stage. During thjs stage records might be r�ained in departmental ecord stores or transferred t� national records centres. Once records have served the purposes for which they were created and have been selected for permanent preservation, they become non-current or archives.
Government agencIes are responsible for ensuring that their records are created and preserved in accordance with the legislative provisions of the national archives. Records generated electronically include ekcgonic mail (e-mail) messages, word erocess.i.n&, d£9lmeIl.lS, spreadsheets, databases and imag�s. All these records present a preservation � <
challenge for archival institutions and agencies, because technologies are changing very rapidly (Wato 2003). Other records are in the form of videotapes of performances and ministerial and national events.
Sources of e-records include desktop applications such as financial systems, human resource systems and corporate databases. Typically, records are evidence of government or organizational activities and include policy documents, memoranda, letters and database reports (Victorian Electronic Records Strategy 2003). Paper-based records in the public sector normally include reports (monthly, quarterly and yearly) press releases, official speeches, policy documents, court proceedings, minutes of official meetings, tax invoices, business plans, conference papers and government forms.
2.2.3 Major Types of E-Records
Robek, Brown and Stephens ( 1 996: 201 ) define e-records as records containing machine
readable, as opposed to human-readable, information. A collection of e-records is often generally referred to as a file. Examples include disk files, tape files and image files.
Robek, Brown and Stephens ( 1996: 202) describes these type of records as:
2.2.3.1 Textfiles
Text files are usually produced by word processing program� or by other software. The records consist of character-coded letters, digits or symbols appearing in typewritten
documents, such as correspondence and reports. Text files are most often_created by keyboard entry of the data, but optical character recognition (OCR) programs, electronic messaging software and various other types of computer programs may also be used to create them.
2.2.3.2 Datafiles
ata files are computer-processible files that store numeric data (and frequently some - - -
.
textual information as well), so that the numbers can be manipulated utilizing arithmetic - - c,?m utatio s. Data files are stored simply as characters, in a more structured manner.
These e-records are normally subdivided into one or more data elements, referred to as fields. For example, in accounting or general ledger files, separate fields and sub-fields would be dedicated for credits and debits.
2.2.3.3 Image files
Image files are e-records that contain computer-processible images of documents that generally existed in
�
ard copy format prior to having been converted to image files.These files consist of digitally coded document images; they are created electronically, by scanning the hard copy documents or by various other methods.
According to the Public Record Office (2001 ) of the United Kingdom, these major types _of e-records need a system which will support their qualities and evidence. Effective electronic records management to support government in the information age will require a formalization of control over electronic records already existing in departments and agencies, as well as planning for those that will be generated by new service delivery and policy-making systems. According to the Public Record Office (200 1 ) of the United Kingdom, records represent an explicit corporate memory for the organization. t:le�ct[�
�ds nlock the content which was previously difficult to access in paper form, enable
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.b-.:::���,ation and contribute to knowledge network JloW$. 'I:llby,
..."...,.. d..,.ence-based policy-making by providing reliable evidence of past actions and
de iSlons; but to do so they must be managed so as to retain their integrity and authenticity.
Electronic records of authenticated electronic transactions need to be kept in a manner that preserves their qualities of legal admissibility and evidential weight. Privacy and access issues, and particularly freedom of information legislation, requires that electronic records be managed consistently within regulatory frameworks. Aspects of electronic records management should be built into record-generating and records management systems, to ensure that these longer-term requirements are met (Katuu 2001 :4).
The longer-term requirements of public records will need public sector organizations to plan for migration of records, as hardware and software platforms change, to ensure continued access and authenticity. According to the Public Record Office (2001 ) effective electronic management supports:
• Efficient joint working, information exchange and inter-operability among government organizations.
• Evidence-based policy making, by providing reliable and authentic information for the evaluation of past actions and decisions.
• Administration of data protection principles and effective implementation of freedom of information and other information policy legislation, through good organization of records.
• Knowledge management across sectors of government, by making reliable information available for sharing, extraction and sumrnarization.
• Various specialized legislation, by demonstrating the authenticity of records and supporting legal admissibility.