SADC Secretariat Records Management Policy 1. Definitions For purposes of this Policy, unless otherwise stated, the following definitions apply: 1.1 Archives – records that have been selected for permanent preservation due to their enduring or continuing value to SADC. 1.2 Disposition – the process of either destroying obsolete records or transferring those with long-term value to a SADC Secretaraiet Archives following the prescriptions of approved Retention and Disposal Schedules. 1.3 Records – ‘information created, received, and maintained as evidence and information by SADC Secretariat in pursuance of its legal obligations or in the transaction of its business 1.4 Records Management - ‘the field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of record’ (ISO 15489, 2001). 1.5 Records Management Function – the service responsible for coordinating and executing records management functions in the SADC Secretariat. 1.6 Retention and Disposition Schedules – a document that lists all the records created and held by SADC Secretariat and specifies periods of time after which the records can either be destroyed or archived through the application of SADC Records Retention schedule. 1.7 Electronic Mail (referred hereafter as email) - any electronic message created, sent or received through the SADC Secretariat email system that is required to support, inform and account for the Secretariat’s business activities. 2. Background 2.1 The Southern Africa Development Coordination Conference was formed in Lusaka (Zambia) on 1 April 1980 and the transformation to Southern African Development Community (SADC) took place on 17 August 1992 in Windhoek (Namibia) through the signing of the Declaration and Treaty at the Summit of Heads of State and Government. 2.2 SADC currently consists of 15 members namely: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, ________________________________________________________________________ Page 1