Zimbabwe's central government: Framework for use and management of email

Abstract

This research on use and management of email in Zimbabwe's central government revealed a number of shortfalls in the manner official email were used and managed. Lapses in the application of the legal, policy and procedural frameworks coupled with email skills deficiencies and use of inappropriate information and communication technologies resulted in poor management of email. A lot of official emails were lost, fragmented, inappropriately disposed and difficult to access. This led to the development, by the authors, of a framework to improve the use and management of email which bordered on the controlled use of email, management of email in line with set guidelines and the pursuance of a high degree of professionalism and integrity. The framework is set to improve the use and management of email in order to make email an authentic, reliable, useful and useable official record. This mixed methods research involved 240 questionnaire respondents from 12 out of 22 head offices of government ministries in Zimbabwe, as well as interviewees who comprised of the Administration and Information Technology Directors from central government, the Director of the National Archives of Zimbabwe and seven National Archives of Zimbabwe archivists. Data were also collected through personal observation and document reviews.