Data protection in Botswana opportunities and challenges for records management

Abstract

Data protection legislation is concerned with the safeguarding of privacy rights of individuals in relation to the processing of personal data, regardless of media or format. The Government of Botswana enacted the Data Protection Act in 2018 for purposes of regulating personal data and to ensure the protection of individual privacy as it relates to personal data, and its maintenance. This paper investigates opportunities and challenges for records management, and recommends measures to be put in place in support of data protection, through proper records management practices. The study employed a desktop approach and data was collected using content analysis. The study found that opportunities such as improved retrieval and access to information, improved job opportunities for records management professionals and a conducive legislative framework are available. It also revealed that a lack of resources to drive the records management function, limitations in electronic document and records systems and a lack of freedom of information to regulate access to public information by members of the public is still a challenge. The study recommends the employment of qualified records management staff with capacity to manage records in the networked environment for purposes of designing and implementing records management programmes that can facilitate compliance with the requirements prescribed by the Data Protection Act.