Presentation on disposal of records Institute of Municipal Personnel Practitioners of South Africa( IMPSA) 24 July 2015

Transcription

1 Presentation on disposal of records Institute of Municipal Personnel Practitioners of South Africa( IMPSA) 24 July 2015 NKATINGI, J.H. DEPARTMENT OF SPORT,ARTS & CULTURE LIMPOPO PROVINCIAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS SERVICE 1

2 PRESENTATION OUTLINE Background Objectives and benefits of records disposal Procedure on records disposal Types of disposal authorities Retention periods Transferring of records Maintaining destruction register Destruction procedure 2

3 B. Background Disposal means an action of either destroying/deleting records or transferring it into archival custody. Disposal Authority means a written authority issued by the Provincial Archivist specifying which records should be transferred into archival custody or specifying which records to be destroyed/ deleted The disposal of records are issued under the authority of the Provincial Archives in terms of Provincial Archives Act No.05 of

4 C. Objectives of records disposal Compliance and uniformity within the province with regard to disposal of records Promote procedures for transfer of records from department to Archives Promote procedures in applying for destruction of records 4

5 D. Benefit on records disposal Reduce the storage costs for the institutions. Records which are not used often end up being stored in unfavorable conditions. A distinction is made between Archival and non-archival records, therefore preserving valuable records for future use. 5

6 E. Procedures on records disposal In terms of section 13 (2) of the Provincial Archive Act no public records under the control of a governmental body may be transferred to an archives repository, destroyed, erased, dumped on the corridors or otherwise disposed of without a written disposal authority issued by Provincial Archivist. 6

7 Procedures continues Records will be destroyed per disposal authority issued by the Provincial Archivist. On receiving an application for disposal of records, the department will be issued a disposal authority Once disposal authority has been issued, disposal instruction are recorded opposite each file in disposal column Departments/institution will apply for disposal authority if their filing system has been used for 2 years 7

8 F. The Provincial Archives issue three types of authorities 1.Standing disposal authority Granted to current records Records that form part of the classification in use Example of classification are General file plan and Staff file plan Records dating period after 1 st October 2002 Department will have to apply. 8

9 The provincial Archives issue three types of authorities 2. Limited Disposal Authority Granted to terminated records Records that form part of the classification system no longer in use. Records dating back to period before 1 st October 2002 Department will have to apply. 9

10 The provincial Archives issue three types of authorities 3.General Disposal Authority Granted to dispose specific current records It is granted to records that are similar in all offices Examples personal files, financial records, applications forms etc. Departments are informed by circulars from Provincial Archivist. 10

11 Disposal of records covered by the general disposal authority Some of the general disposal authority issued by the Provincial Archivist provides for retention periods whereas other make it the prerogative of the government body to decide on the retention period. 11

12 Retention periods will be allocated to all non-archives records by Head Office Records Management unit in consultation with all institutions/districts 12

13 H. Transferring of Records Transferring records to an archive repository (Provincial Archives) - No institution or department may transfer records to an Archives repository without a written approval of the provincial archivist Records with archival value (A20) shall be transferred to a relevant Archives Repository 20 years after creation. 13

14 I. Maintaining Destruction Register Once disposal instructions are issued for all non- archival records, a destruction register should be developed, in which files will be recorded according to the scheduled destruction year. The register should also be updated to record all destroyed records 14

15 J. Destruction Procedures Department after disposal of records must forward their destruction certificate to Provincial Archives The prescribed destruction certificate should be used 15

16 K. Destruction methods Various methods (such as shredding, recycling and burning) may be used to destroy records depending on their nature and medium. *NB However, the method used, all efforts should be made to ensure complete destruction of same or records are destroyed in totality. 16

17 I.CONCLUSION Destruction / Disposal of records should only take place once there is assurance that records are no longer required, that no work is outstanding and that no litigation or investigation or request which would involve the records in question in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act or the Promotion of Administration Justice Act is pending. 17

18 Inkomu Jabu Nkatingi Provincial Archivist 18