Online Reporter
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
EVERY year on June 9, the world marks International Archives Day, a moment dedicated to shining the spotlight on a profession often overlooked, yet essential to the functioning of every other field.
Zimbabwe, with its high literacy rate and untapped potential, stands poised to leapfrog many African nations in modernising its archiving and records management systems.
Like other members of the global community, the country recognises the transformative power of information communication technologies (ICTs) in driving socio-economic development.
Governments that embraced ICTs early—through clear policies, strategic investments, and robust implementation—have reaped immense benefits for their economies and citizens. Zimbabwe aims to follow suit.
In this spirit, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, working through the National Archives of Zimbabwe (NAZ), is rolling out the Electronic Document Records Management System (EDRMS). This initiative is expected to revolutionise how records are managed across the public sector, ensuring efficiency, transparency, and accessibility in the digital age.
Officially opening the Annual General Symposium for Records and Archives in Nyanga last Wednesday, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Deputy Minister Honourable Chido Sanyatwe underscored the urgent need to promote ICTs in archiving and records management across all Government departments and agencies.
“We are at that juncture, ladies and gentlemen, where information is increasingly being born, transmitted, stored, and accessed digitally,” she said. “This year’s thought-provoking theme—Digital Records and Archives for the Future: Relevant Preservation, Access, and Security—aptly addresses the pressing need to integrate emerging technologies seamlessly into our daily operations. The Government is highly committed to promoting ICTs because they are cross-cutting enablers across all sectors of society and the economy.”
She acknowledged challenges such as inadequate communications and electricity infrastructure, high costs of ICT devices, and interoperability issues, but stressed that these hurdles must be overcome.
It is beyond reproach that, as we are now in a new era of advanced ICTs characterised by fifth generation technologies where all things are sensing, connected and intelligent, countries which do not embrace these technologies will be left out and will lag behind and most likely be dominated by those who have invested in new technologies.
To systematically exploit the potential of ICTs for national development and transformation, Zimbabwe needs to develop an all-inclusive guideline that clearly articulates how the country will develop, deploy and manage ICTs across all sectors. The plan is clearly laid out in the form of a Smart Zimbabwe 2030 Master Plan.
Reads part of the master plan: “The Smart Zimbabwe 2030 Master Plan will work through key specific sector-focused pillars that act as Smart Solutions and these include: a) Smart Government, b) Smart Cities, c) Smart Agriculture, d) Smart Education, e) Smart Transport, f) Smart Health, g) Smart Tourism, and h) Smart Mining.”
In fact, e-Government in Zimbabwe aims to transform public administration and improve citizen services through the Smart Zimbabwe 2030 Master Plan and Vision 2030, though widespread implementation remains in its early stages due to infrastructure and funding constraints.
With Centralised Portals and Services, the official Government portal is the main entry point for public services, citizenship applications, and business registration is the Zimbabwe Government Portal.
In essence, some of the outputs of this plan include, according to a cursory internet search, E-Procurement (eGP).
Meant to enhance transparency and curb corruption, the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe launched the Zimbabwe electronic Government Procurement System across all Government ministries, departments, and agencies.
Online Resources is also another aspect of the plan. One can read more about the ongoing digital integration and municipal infrastructure modernisation through updates from groups like the e-Governance Academy.
However, there are current challenges that can still be overcome with more commitment. Zimbabwe currently ranks 123 out of 193 in the UN’s e-Government readiness indices and several factors challenge the growth of digital public services across the country, including the digital divide.
This entails high costs of internet data and inconsistent electricity access in some areas that hinder citizen participation. Resource constraints is also another. Acute budgetary deficits in key sectors limit their ability to invest in ICT infrastructure and technical training.
Be that as it may, the crucial e-Government documents in electronic form are digitised public records and administrative files shared between governments, citizens, and businesses. They streamline workflows, improve transparency, and eliminate reliance on physical paperwork.
Common examples of electronic government documents include e-Invoices and Receipts: XML or PDF documents issued by or submitted to Government authorities for tax validation.e-Certificates that are digitally signed and dated certificates – such as birth, marriage, or police clearance certificates – that citizens can download and print.
This also entails digital licences. Native mobile or digital versions of official permits, including driver’s licences and business operating licences. There are also e-forms and submissions that encompass online interactive forms used for submitting census data, filing tax returns, or applying for public services, as well as e-declarations, the latter being digital customs forms and trade documents used for import and export clearance at borders.
e-Ledgers and Financial Reports that entail annual financial statements and mandatory reporting files submitted digitally to Government oversight boards, as well as digital identity (e-ID), that is biometric national identification documents that generate verifiable digital profiles for automatic service delivery.
Deputy Minister Sanyatwe said: “Ladies and gentlemen, it is no longer a matter of IF, because digital revolution is already upon us, and it is altering the face of each and every profession across the globe and reshaping how societies create, manage, preserve, and access information. Nations are increasingly adopting intelligent technologies to improve governance, enhance service delivery, strengthen economic competitiveness, and better respond to the needs of citizens.
“Some Government institutions here represented are generating vast amounts of electronic records through digital platforms, e-governance systems, emails, databases, and cloud technologies. The question before us is no longer whether we should embrace digital records management, but rather how we can do so effectively, sustainably, and securely,” she said.
In this rapidly evolving environment, records and archives professionals face both unprecedented opportunities and complex challenges.
While digital technologies offer improved efficiency, wider accessibility, and enhanced collaboration, they also present critical concerns relating to long-term preservation, cyber security threats, data integrity, authenticity, privacy, and technological obsolescence.
Timely accessibility of information, especially on ICT-enabled platforms, is now a need which must be facilitated by information professionals. It is only through timely access to information that the general populace can actively participate in national development activities.
Deputy Minister Sanyatwe said: “However, we should always be on guard against disinformation which is mainly leveraging the available digital platforms. As we, as a nation, march towards the realisation of Vision 2030, the role of archives as a catalyst for development cannot be overlooked. Archives and archivists play an important role in accountability, transparency, democracy, heritage, and memory.
“In the same vein, I also want to urge all of us to continuously assess our competence gaps, and always ensure we continue upskilling and reskilling ourselves. It is only through continuous learning that we will stay relevant and well equipped for the challenges posed by the ever evolving digital environment.”
