Assessment of the preservation of records in the traditional councils : a case study of Ga-Mphahlele Traditional Council in Limpopo, South Africa

Abstract

Records serve a crucial function in the facilitation of organisational events and functions. In every organisation, records need to be preserved for their role. The study explored the Assessment of the preservation of records in the traditional councils of south Africa: a case study of Ga-Mphahlele Traditional Council with a view to improving the preservation and access to records. The study used a qualitative research approach and a case study research design found within interpretivism and constructivism paradigm. The population of the study was the council members of the traditional council. Quota sampling was used to sample council members of the GaMphahlele Traditional Council. The quota sampling method was embraced in the study, because the number of council members was small. All these council members were based in the Ga-Mphahlele area in the Capricorn District Municipality in Limpopo province, South Africa. The data was collected from the council members at GaMphahlele Traditional Council using a semi-structured interview. The Collected data was then analysed through thematic data analysis. The findings of the study revealed that the traditional council does not have any policy or legislative frameworks used for records preservation, staff members in the traditional council did not have any qualification, skill, or knowledge pertaining to records preservation and there is less support from the top management when coming to the budget of records management and the traditional council does not have enough resources for records preservation. The study recommends that the traditional council should look at the national policy and legislative frameworks governing records and familiarise themselves with them so that they can be able to draft their own policy used for records preservation. The study also recommends that the traditional council should hire people with records preservation skills and knowledge, those who are already in the system should be given extensive training and have more workshops to equip their skills