New cloth in an old overcoat: A content analysis of the National Archives of Zimbabwe Act [Chapter 25:06] to the management of electronic records in Zimbabwe

This study content analyses the National Archives of Zimbabwe Act (1986) to the management of electronic records in Zimbabwe. It is a fact that electronic records management has been adopted in Zimbabwe as a way to mitigate the challenges experienced in paper records management. This adoption has been coded as a revolution in which whether we like it or not, it has come, dominated and challenged the traditional paper record-keeping system. The objective of the study is to analyse whether the National Archives of Zimbabwe Act of 1986 as amended under Act 22 of 2001 is in tandem with current electronic records management practices. The study adopts a content analysis approach in which the National Archives of Zimbabwe Act was analysed. Qualitative data drawn from the analysis were organised into broad themes and the content reported in a narrative form. The researchers use an emergent framework to code and categorise the data and group them into themes. The study found out that the National Archives of Zimbabwe Act does not address advent of electronic records management in terms of legislative and policies. The study recommends that the policy makers should first address issues of legislation and policies for effective management of electronic records. The study deepens the understanding of electronic records management from which policy makers in Zimbabwe can take a cue to deal with the management of e-records. It is hoped that this study would help records managers and archivists, policy makers and the government of Zimbabwe to articulate and consider the amendment of the National Archives of Zimbabwe Act to cover management of electronic records.