People's Guide to Archives

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This People’s Guide to Archives and Democracy

aims to provide individuals and organisations with an introduction and a roadmap to the archival landscape of South Africa. The Guide points out the main role players, processes and problems in gaining access to information stored in the National Archives, other government and non-governmental archives. This Guide aims to provide an entry point to these issues, as well as practical advice about the various archives, and the application of legislation in a simple and accessible manner.

The Guide seeks to provide explanations and links to ways in which civil society, researchers and organisations can be empowered through various tools such as the application of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) in order to gain access to government records as a matter of administrative justice, transparency and accountability.

This guide is the result of a collaboration by:

Wits History Workshop

South African History Archive

Public Affairs Research Institute

Historical Papers Research Archive with the support of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Southern Africa Office Go to: Project partners

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CONTENTS 1. Introducing the People’s Guide • Why we need archives: Information is a right • Archives and access to information: transparency and accountability

2. How can we use 4 4

archives?

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• What is administrative justice?

• What is transitional justice?

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3. A map to archives

* How do we use the archive?

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Who

A. SA government archives - National archives: NARSSA - Provincial archives - Government departments - Court records - Municipal and local records

6. More resources and research A. Feedback platforms B. Book projects C. International arena Archives Guide partners

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A. Finding documents

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B. Problematic record-keeping 23 C. Classified information

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D. Private and confidential records 25 - Protection of Personal

Information (POPI) 25

5. Building democratic archives

Go to: sections in this guide

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36 37 38 40

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26 A. Archival Activism 26 B. PAIA - how it works 28 C. Organisations that work on

access to information 30 D. Archives and the struggle for transitional justice in SA 31

Click on the blue “Go to” buttons to go to sections within the guide, and pink “link “ button to go to other websites-- these buttons look like this:

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B. Independent, research, struggle, 18 and civil society archives 19 histories oral & archives Living C. has access to information?

20 D. Private archives E. Digital archives

4. Problems with the archives

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Link: external website

1. Introducing the People’s Guide Why we need archives: Information is not a privilege, it is a right!

All of us have the right to know information that affects us and our communities.

We have the right to have access to information that government and private bodies collect about our lives, and that can change our lives.

We need archives to know about, and understand our history and our past; this will help us make better decisions today.

Hiding information from the people makes it easy for those in power – whether in or out of government -to hide waste, corruption and human rights abuses.

Good governance and democracy rely on openness, on keeping people informed, on allowing us to participate in the decisions that affect our lives.

Under apartheid, our parents used to say: “No decisions about us without us!” This is still true today.

What do we mean when we say: “We have the right to information”?

Having access to information allows you to participate

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in the government of South Africa, which is your democratic right and responsibility. You can participate in your democracy by using your right to information to ask government for records about: • • • •

the way they spend money their plans to improve service delivery their plans to reduce unemployment how you can participate in government policy making • how they are working to reduce corruption.

The right to information also allows you to monitor private bodies whose activities, actions or policies have an impact on the rights of you and your community.

For example, you can ask private bodies questions about: • the impact their activity has on your environment • their labour practices that affect members of your community who are employed by them • any file they hold on you, such as your medical file, or your police record.

Archives and access to information: transparency and accountability The South Africa’s national archival system was established as part of the new government that came into place in 1994. It has five key objectives: • Turning archives into an accessible public resource that supports the exercise of human rights; • Using archives to support post-apartheid programmes of redress and reparation, including the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), land restitution, and special pensions; • Taking archives to the people through participatory public programmes; • Actively documenting voices and experiences of those who had been left out of colonial and apartheid archives; • Using public archives to ensure that government record-keeping supports efficient, accountable, and transparent administration.

“Access to information is a right which is protected by our Constitution. There is a whole piece of legislation dedicated to helping ordinary people access information from the state and the private sector: this legislation is called the Promotion of Access to Information Act – or PAIA.”

5 Go to: Tools to use PAIA

2. How can we use the archives?

Denying access to information hides corruption and protects perpetrators Transparency and accountability are basic to good governance. They depend upon accurate records that the public can scrutinise. Governments and others who want to cover corruption and protect perpetrators need to hide information from the public. The biggest battles around the archives centre around fighting secrecy, and making sure information is open to public view.

What is administrative justice?

How can this help me?

Administrative justice relates to how we interact as individuals when the government, or those working on its behalf, act in ways that appear wrong, unfair or unjust. It encompasses matters of everyday importance to all of us, such as housing, education, health care, immigration, planning, and social welfare.

Link: Promotion of Administrative Justice Act.

What is transitional justice?

Why are archives important for this?

“Transitional justice” refers to processes that communities use to create a peaceful, stable and just society after years of human rights violations, genocide or civil war. Transitional justice typically builds upon three pillars:

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• establish the truth about what happened; • ensure accountability for crimes and atrocities; • work toward reparation and reconciliation.

Transitional justice is only possible when people know the truth about what happened during that painful past. Having archives that are open, that are transparent and accessible, is key to building transitional justice.

In South Africa, activists today are challenging the archives to fulfilll this key role in dealing with our violent history.

Go to: The Archives, TRC, and

Transitional Justice in South Africa

How do we use the archives?

How can I as an individual use the archives?

Both government and private archives collect and hold information about citizens and residents.

This information covers everything from who owns the title deed to a house or to land, to who is legally married, to birth and death registrations, to education and health records, to who has committed crimes.

We need access to these records to get on with our day to day lives: you may need a birth certificate for your child to go to school; the title deed showing that your parents owned the land that they farmed; or medical records that enable a doctor to help you with an illness.

Every individual has a right to access the information held by government about us.

To find out where these records are kept (and problems with using these), go to: Go to: A map to the archives

We have a right to access: • personal records held by a government department or a public body; • third party information or records: only with permission from the relevant third party, especially if the documents contain confidential or private information; and • information to which access is not restricted by the Promotion of Access to Information Act. • the records of Cabinet and its committees • records about that relate to the courts, laws, and justice that affect how government acts towards us.

Activists, communities and social movements can use archives in many ways.

Go to: National Archives Go to: Provincial Archives Go to: Municipal records And you may also find that you need to become involved as an activist to resolve your problems...

How can activists and communities use the archives?

Archives hold information and evidence that we need for campaigns, court cases, even just understanding what causes the problems and the nature of these problems. We need to find ways to access that information.

Activists may find that people in power may want to hide this information, to prevent us from learning about the misuse of power: whether this is corruption, environmental pollution, failure to address gender-based violence, or illegal actions by government forces such as torture and killings. Activists and social movements play a key role in the fight for information to be open to the public – to ensure transparency and accountability.

As activists and communities, we can also create our own archives, preserving the stories of oppressed and marginalised groups, recording our own histories and struggles. Creating and preserving people’s archives become part of our understanding of society; and help form the foundation for transforming our lives.

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There are many different kinds of archives.

A. SA Government archives: In South Africa, the government keeps records in different places.

The National Archives and Records Service of South Africa (NARSSA) is responsible for all national records; centred in their offices in Pretoria.

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Different government departments (education, health, environment, justice, defence, international relations) keep their own archives.

Each province keeps its own archives; these include the archives from the old bantustan administrations that became part of the province.

Local government institutions also keep their own records: municipalities, courts, police, hospitals and clinics.

B. Independent, research and civil society archives There are a number of independent archives that have over the years collected substantial records on behalf of civil society, filling the gaps in many areas of public interest. These include university and research archives, and “struggle” archives.

C. Living archives We also know that many histories have not yet been written down.

We talk about “living archives” in people’s memories of events.

D. Private archives Corporates and individuals also own their own private archives.

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E. Digital archives And today, many records are kept as digitised archives, either on computer disks or “in the cloud” (on the internet). There are many questions and difficulties about who has access to digital records, how technology changes, and what information we keep and know.

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um...where do I start?

A. SA Government archives The National Archives Act of South Africa of 1996 aims: “to provide for a National

Archives; the proper

management and care

of the records of governmental bodies; and the preservation and use of a national archival heritage”

1. The National Archives and Records Service (NARSSA) South African law makes the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa (NARSSA) the national organisation responsible for collecting, preserving, storing, and making available state records and other key historical documents.

Government departments and officials use these records for ongoing research; researchers from civil society and academia also use them to establish the historical facts, in public consultation, and to engage with and respond to government actions.

The National Archives and Records Service Act states that documents more than thirty years old should be transferred to national archive depots. These are located in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg. Archive depots and reading rooms are open to the public for free.

In 1978, the Government Archives Service established the National Register of Manuscripts (NAREM).

Link: SA Archives Act

The Act places the National Archives under the Department of Arts and Culture.

The functions of the National Archives are: • • • •

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to preserve public and non-public records with enduring value for use by the public and the State; to make such records accessible and promote their use by the public; to ensure the proper management and care of all public records;. to collect non-public records with enduring value of national significance which cannot be more appropriately preserved by another institution; • to maintain a national archival information retrieval system, as well as to maintain national registers of non-public records with enduring value; • promote co-operation and co-ordination between institutions having custody of such records; and • to assist, support, set standards for and provide professional guidelines to provincial archives services.

Although the National Archives Act provides for records to be regularly transferred to the National Archives, this does not always happen.

NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS SERVICE OF SOUTH AFRICA

There are 4000 organisations and institutions linked to government archives including parastatals (such as ESKOM and PRASA) that are covered by the Archives Act. But often these do not regularly transfer records to the National Archives. There is no formalised agreement that these institutions should NOT transfer records to the National Archives; but many do not do so.

Head Office Postal address: Private Bag X236, PRETORIA, 0001 Street address: 24 Hamilton Street, Arcadia, PRETORIA

Some issues that get in the way of regularly transferring records to the National Archives are:

Director: National Archives Ms Mandy B Gilder E-mail: MandyG@dac.gov.za Tel: (012) 441 3201

• The National Archives need more resources to handle regular transfers – both more staffing and more space; • The capacity to declassify is a problem: declassification remains the responsibility of the creator (organisation or individual official rank); • There is no automatic declassification after a set period (in many countries material is declassified after 30 years; but not in SA).

The Archives Act is currently being amended to address these problems.

The National Film, Video and Sound Archives (NFVSA) The National Film, Video and Sound Archives (NFVSA) is a sub-directorate of NARSSA, located in Pretoria. NFVSA’s mandate is to collect audio-visual and related material made in or about South Africa; to preserve the audio-visual heritage of our country, and to make this material available within South Africa.

The National Archives Act provides that there must be a legal deposit of audio-visual material published in South Africa; the Legal Deposit Act (No 54 of 1997) specifically designates the NFVSA as a place of deposit for this audiovisual material.

The National Film Archives was formed as a part of the National Film Board to promote South Africa’s film industry. It aimed to trace, accession, restore, preserve and make available films made in South Africa. In 1982 the National Film Archives was incorporated into State Archives Service; it was renamed NFVSA in 1985.

National Archives Repository The Head: Ms Khanyi Ngcobo Tel: (012) 441 3207 E-mail: KhanyiN@dac.gov.za Sensative Records The Head: Mr. Gerrit Wagner GerritW@dac.gov.za Tel: (012)441 3203 Records Management and Information Systems The Head: Ms Erna-Marie Pretorius E-mail: Erna-MarieP@dac.gov.za Tel: (012) 441 3200 Fax: (012) 323 5287 National Film, Video and Sound Archives Head: Dennis Maake Postal address: Private Bag X236, PRETORIA 0001 Street address: 239 Madiba Street (at intersection with Andries Street), PRETORIA Tel: (012) 441 3150 E-mail: DennisM@dac.gov.za

The aims of the National Film, Video and Sound Archives are:

The NFVSA today archives the audio-visual heritage of the country, including films, sound recordings and related materials, such as scripts and posters; it also includes a library and photographs on audio-visual material, and information on literature, music, sculpting, painting and the theatre.

• To collect audio-visual and related material that was made in or about South Africa;

To view or listen to material, an appointment must be made in advance. A three-day notice period is required to allow the material to acclimatise before putting it on the machines to access it. Material may be accessed on NFVSA premises at a fee determined by the Treasury. Bona fide students, however, can view or listen to material free of charge. Written permission of the copyright holder is required before any material may be copied or duplicated.

• To preserve the audiovisual heritage of South Africa.

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PROVINCIAL ARCHIVES

• Provinces store provincial government records; the NARSSA Act makes provinces responsible for their own records .

• Many government departments keep their own records.

• Municipalities and local government institutions keep their own records.

• AND other government services, such as courts, police, hospitals and clinics, keep their own records.

South Africa’s Constitution gives provincial government exclusive control over “archives other than national archives” (Schedule 5 areas of competence of provinces, SA Constitution). Thus records or material that have not been explicitly designated as “national” can be collected in provincial archives. (The definition of “national” here is not made very clear.)

CASE STUDY: Bantustans in boxes

2. NARSSA does NOT store or keep track of all government records.

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A key result is that former bantustan archives that have survived have mostly been incorporated into provincial archives, in provinces where those bantustans had been located. (Not all bantustan archives have survived or are complete.)

Northern Cape Provincial Archives Service Provincial Archivist: Ms Elizabeth Manong Postal address: Private Bag X5004, KIMBERLEY 8300 Street address: Department of Sport, Arts & Culture Building, 22 Abattoir Road, Ashburnham 8301, Kimberley Tel: (053) 807 4700, (053) 807 4795 E-mail: emanong@ncpg.gov.za

Bantustans in boxes

by Laura Philips

Many of the bantustan archives are underresourced, in a very poor state and scattered around the country. The Transkei Archives can be found in Mthatha; the KwaZulu archives in Ulundi; the Lebowa, Gazankulu and Venda archives in the Limpopo Provincial Archives in Polokwane; the Bophuthatswana archives in the North West Provincial Archives in Mafikeng; the Qwaqwa archives in the Free State provincial depository; and the KaNgwane archives in Nelspruit. It is recommended that researchers contact the archives before visiting them. It is unclear where KwaNdebele archives are, though it is likely that parts of the old administrations’ documents have been deposited in Nelspruit. The Ciskei archives are in private hands and very difficult to access.

Download full article

Western Cape Provincial Archives and Records Service Provincial Archivist: Ms Nkiwe Momoti Postal address: Private Bag X9025, CAPE TOWN 8000 Street address: 72 Roeland Street, CAPE TOWN Tel: (021) 466 8100 E-mail: Archives@pgwc.gov.za (for General Correspondence) Records@pgwc.gov.za (for Records Management enquiries) Readroom@pgwc.gov.za (Reading Room Enquiries)

Mpumalanga Provincial Archives Service The Head: Mr Nkitseng Mahalefa Postal Address: P O Box 1243, NELSPRUIT, 1200 Street address: 1st Floor, Building 5, 7 Government Boulevard, Riverside Park Ext 2, NELSPRUIT Tel: (013) 766 5081 E-mail: nfmahalefa@mpg.gov.za

Gauteng Provincial Archives Provincial Archivist: Ms Elizabeth Mbatha Postal address: Private Bag X33, JOHANNESBURG 2000 Tel.: (011) 355 2659 E-mail: elizabeth.mbatha@ gauteng.gov.za

Free State Provincial Archives The Provincial Archivist Mr Tshitso Challa Postal address: Private Bag X20504, BLOEMFONTEIN 9300 Street address: 29 Badenhorst Street, BLOEMFONTEIN Tel: (051) 522 6762.

E-mail: tchalla@sacr.fs.gov.za

Eastern Cape Provincial Archives The Provincial Archivist Ms Lungiswa Mtiki Postal Address: Private Bag X7486, KING WILLIAM’S TOWN,5600 Street Address: 5 Eales Street, KING WILLIAM’S TOWN Tel: (043) 604 4017/6 E-Mail: lungiswa.mtiki@ecsrac.gov.za Mthatha Archives Repository The Head Postal address/Street Address: corner of Owen Street and Alexander Road, MTHATHA Tel: (047) 532 5148 Port Elizabeth Archives Repository The Head: Mr Johan van Zyl Postal Address: Private Bag X3932, North End, PORT ELIZABETH, 6056 Street address: 1 De Villiers Street, PORT ELIZABETH Tel: (041) 484 6467 E-Mail: johan.vanzyl@srac.ecprov.gov.za

KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Archives Head Office Provincial Archivist :Dr Vukile Khumalo Postal address: Private Bag X9012, PIETERMARITZBURG 3200 Street address: 231 Pietermaritz Street, PIETERMARITZBURG Tel: (033) 342 7501 E-mail: khumalov@kzndac.gov.za Durban Archives Repository The Head: Mr Rishi Singh Postal address: Private Bag X22, GREYVILLE 4023 Street address: Nashua House, 14 De Mazenod Street, GREYVILLE Tel: (031) 309 5682 E-mail: SinghR@kzndac.gov.za Pietermaritzburg Archives Repository The Head: Ms Judith Hawley Postal address: Private Bag X9012, PIETERMARITZBURG 3200 Street address: 231 Pietermaritz Street, PIETERMARITZBURG Tel: (033) 342 4712 E-mail: hawleyj@kzndac.gov.za

Link:

NARSSA Directory

DIRECTORY: PROVINCIAL ARCHIVES

North West Provincial Archives and Records Services Provincial Archivist: Mr Sipho Zulu Postal address: Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, Private Bag X 90, MMABATHO, 2735 Street Address: Corner University Drive and Dr Albert Luthuli, MMABATHO, 2745 Tel: 018 388 3963 E-mail: SZulu@nwpg.gov.za

Limpopo Provincial Archives Service The Head: Mr Jabu Nkatingi Postal address: Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, Archives Service, Private Bag X9549, POLOKWANE 0700 Street address: 15 Grobler Road, POLOKWANE Tel: (015) 284 4043 E-mail: nkatingij@sac.limpopo.gov.za

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National government departments Many government departments keep their own archives, separate from NARSSA. Key ministries which hold their own archives are: Department of International Relations, Defence, Police, Correctional Service, and Justice.

National departments that deal with security have their own procedures for classifying and releasing information; although as government departments they are also subject to the requirements of PAIA for releasing information.

Link: Sensitive Archival Records

Court Records: Courts in South Africa are designated as an “Office of Record”, which means the laws that establish the courts have sections that describe how they must keep, preserve, and dispose of their records. But the structure of courts in South Africa has changed significantly over the last century; how courts keep their records has also changed.

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The Supreme Court of South Africa was the highest court of law from 1910 to 1997, it was made up of provincial and local divisions in specific areas; with an Appellate Division which was the highest appeal court in the country.

When the bantustans were defined as quasi-independent, their had their own Supreme Courts. These so-called independant bantustans (Transkei, Bophutatswana, Venda, Ciskei) were absorbed back into the Supreme Court of South Africa in 1994, and defined as provincial divisions.

However, the legal system was changed in 1994 and again In 1997, when the final South African Constitution made the Constitutional Court as the highest court in the land, and transformed the Appellate Division into the Supreme Court of Appeal (which is NOT the same as the previous Supreme Court); the provincial and local divisions became the High Courts.

Before 1994, most records were kept at local and

These are contact details for officials responsible for archived information at some key departments.

1) SANDF Mr. Ronnie Mdawe, ronnie.Mdawe@dod.mil.za (012)672-2336 & Bususiwe Mashile, busisiwe.mashile@dod.mil.za (012)672-1273 2) Dept of Justice Deputy Information Officer, Ms Natalie Dominique Louw nlouw@justice.gov (012 3151715) 3) DIRCO Deputy Information Officer, Ms M.E. Bezuidenhout, BezuidenhoutB@dirco.gov.za (+27 12 3291843) Division Records Management Electronic (RME), Jansen van Vuuren, JansenvanVuurenR@dirco.org.za 4) SAPS National Deputy Information Officer, Col Amelda Crooks, crooksa@saps.org.za (+27 12 3932156) 5) National Intelligence Ms Gogo Mashike, selebalengm@ssa.gov.za , (+27 12 4274000)

provincial levels; the records of key cases were archived at the (pre-1997) Supreme Court in Bloemfontien. Since 1997 the Department of Justice keeps records of key judgments of the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court.

Records of historic political cases are sometimes found in civil society and non-government archives.

The most complete source of court records available to the public can be found at the website SAFLII Home | SAFLII http://www.saflii.org/ This is not a government website, but it contains cases and judgements that have been released for public distribution by government. These include most cases from the Constitutional Court, and from the Supreme Court of Appeal. Not all High Court cases are present; and there are no magistrate court judgements on this site.

Today, Magistrates Courts do not have to transfer records to the National Archives, although when the courts do not have capacity to stores records and the National Archives does, the National Archives archives their records.

Link: SAFII

Municipal and local archives Records of government institutions that operate at local level -- including local police archives, hospital archives, education records, and municipal records -- have historically been kept by the local institutions, and must be accessed through them.

Nearly all local records compiled before ten years ago are kept in paper form at the local level. This means that often researchers can find crucial material about historic events in local municipal records -- even where in theory this information has been consolidated into the National Archives.

Over the last few years, government has increasingly generated and stored files in digital form. Many smaller local and rural sites (such as rural clinics) do not yet have the capacity to do this. But as this happens, digitial records will be accessible through national and provincial structures.

by Joel Pearson

In 2015, I was part of a team of PARI researchers that conducted a study at the Mogalakwena Local Municipality, an institution still reeling from recent political turmoil. After patient exercises in persuasion, we were given permission to interview municipal officials and politicians. But we were also given rare access to the strongroom which safeguards the institution’s document collection. This experience brought to light some important lessons for researchers hoping to both access and interpret documents at local government level.

To PAIA or not to PAIA: After we initially requested access to the municipality’s documents, we were told by to launch a PAIA application for specific documents.

We read this as an attempt at obstruction: we knew that the process would take too long, and we also didn’t know exactly what documents we were looking for. Our study of institutional dynamics required access to a large body of material. So instead we decided to tread a soft

CASE STUDY

Working with Records in Local Government

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CASE STUDY: Local government records 16

path of persuasion, trying to reassure officials that our project was purely academic. Going this route meant spending long hours waiting around the municipality, becoming part of the furniture and developing friendly relationships with the many officials who walk along the corridors.

Be sensitive of the context: A request for documents can attract immediate suspicion. This is because local municipalities are zones of contest: between different political factions; between competing officials and departments; or between different rungs of government. Documents can prove key resources in these battles. Official documents are routinely deployed in disciplinary hearings or court battles.

Officials are also wary of the presence of auditors who sift through documents for any sign of irregularity. At Mogalakwena, forensic auditors hired by competing factions had proved especially problematic, at times arriving without warning and walking out with large bundles of documents.

It took some time to establish our intentions and assure officials that our job was not to hunt for wrong-doers or further factional agendas, but rather to understand institutional dynamics in a systemic sense. We had to give assurances that we would maintain anonymity, and offer officials the opportunity to read our findings before publication.

Patience is a virtue: To ease tensions about our presence at the municipality, we quickly learned that we needed to be as clear as possible about the aims of our project, and maintain a calm and friendly demeanour. This can be difficult when time is short and research progress is slow. But insisting too strongly on a ‘right’ to see the documents can come across as abrasive and suspicious, and will probably result in access being shut off. Officials have plenty of other issues on their plates, so it is crucial to be patient and respectful.

Learn organisational process and hierarchy: Municipalities are governed by endless protocol, both formal and informal. Before rushing in with demands for access to documents, it is crucial to understand how lines of power and rituals of access work in the institution. For us, that meant making formal introductions to the Municipal Manager and Mayor, who stand at the head of the administrative and political wings of the municipality. A formal letter of request from your institution or university can provide significant legitimacy. At Mogalakwena,

we agreed to draft a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which governed our activities at the municipality. The terms of the MoU were never strictly revisited after signing, but the document itself smoothed the way for our entry.

Treat officials as professionals: Each department – and each of the divisions that fall within them – has its own sense of propriety, and one can never simply arrive with an order from ‘the top’.

Records falls under the Corporate Support Services department, so it is advisable to introduce oneself to the Manager of the Department, explain the project and together find a schedule and mode of working, that will produce minimal disruption to day-to-day activities. If you need to take photographs, be up front about this. If you are secretive, it will be noticed.

Finally, records clerks can prove your strongest allies.

They can teach you a great deal about the role that documents play in the institution and how to access particular records.

Defer to institutional autonomy: Through engagements with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), we were able to acquire a letter instructing municipalities in Limpopo to open their archives to us. We tried to use this to gain access at another municipality, but it was met with some offence by officials there who insisted that they didn’t need to take instructions from a national department and could ‘make our own decisions’. Officials cling doggedly to their autonomy, and it is generally best to work within the institution itself to gain access.

Understand the documentary ecosystem: While

CASE STUDY

standardised regulations govern the flow of documents within the state, government institutions generally develop their own idiosyncrasies. Records clerks can help fill you in on how documents move through the institution. It is also important to remember that while the records division aims to collect all documents, many still remain outside of the strongroom - on computers or desks around the institution.

Sometimes it is necessary to speak to managers in other departments and request documents directly.

Documents are weapons: When interpreting documents, it is crucial to understand how they function within the context of local government.

Through working with the wide array of paperwork produced and circulated within the institution, we learned how official documents were directly tied into the political disputes that had recently unfolded at the municipality.

Documents functioned as weapons in the hands of opposing political factions. Each used documents to try and establish proof that they were ‘defenders of good governance’ fighting ‘corrupt looters’. Documents therefore need to be read within the political context in which they were produced and circulated, and not taken at face-value.

Understanding who produced a particular document, how it moved through the institution, and what contestations it may have attracted is absolutely crucial in doing the interpretive work. Speaking to officials revealed the backstories and social lives of documents.

on Order Administra*on Order dministra* A

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Download the report “Mogalakwena Local Municipality in South Africa: An Institutional Case Study”

B. Independent, struggle, research and civil society archives: Over and above these various government archives there are a number of independent archives, who have over the years collected substantial records on behalf of civil society, thereby compensating and filling the gaps in many areas of public interest. Some leading examples of these are:

GALA (Gay and Lesbian Archive)

is predominantly paper based, consisting of letters, photographs, diaries, legal documents, organisational material, etc. The archive is frequented by researches, academics and students, both local and international.

Link: GALA

NAHECS - The National Heritage & Cultural Studies Centre, at Fort Hare University, has been designated the

custodian of the Liberation Movement Archives. These archives of the African National Congress (ANC), the Pan African Congress (PAC), the Black Consciousness Movement (BMC), and many others, reflect the history and development of these organisations as well as the political struggle for democracy in South Africa.

These documents cannot be viewed on line.

Link: NAHECS/ University of Fort Hare

Nelson Mandela Foundation - Centre of Memory holds an archive of the life and time, works and

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writings of its founder, the late Nelson Mandela. It includes handwritten papers, official records and unique artefacts from the personal archive of Nelson Mandela, and records of related significant organisations and individuals.

Link: Archival Collections at the Nelson Mandela Foundation

The South African History Archive (SAHA) is an

independent human rights archive dedicated to documenting, supporting and promoting greater awareness of past and contemporary struggles for justice through archival practices and outreach, and the utilisation of access to information laws.

The Freedom of Information Programme (FOIP) is dedicated to using South Africa’s Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 in order to extend the boundaries of freedom of information and to build up an archive of materials released under the Act for public use.

Link: SAHA

A R C H I V E

F O R

J U S T I C E

South African History Archive - Since 1988

The Struggles for Justice (SFJ) Programme focuses on collecting, preserving and creating access to archival materials held by SAHA and promoting related archival collections across the region.

UWC- Robben Island - Mayibuye Archives

is “a unique multimedia collections depicting multiple facets of resistence of the freedom struggle that was waged against apartheid from within and outside the borders of South Africa”, with unique collections donated by activist organisations.

Link: Mayibuye Centre

Wits Historical Papers Research Archive was

established in 1966. Historical Papers is one of the largest and most comprehensive independent archives in Southern Africa, housing over 3400 collections of historical, political, and cultural importance. These include records of many human rights NGOs, labour federations, political parties, churches, and the papers of human rights activists.

Link: Wits Historical Papers Research Archive

C. Living archives & oral histories

'The grand narratives of struggle and apartheid capture only a fraction of its lived reality, and convey a picture drained of meaning and feeling. Since official documents are silent on many of these subjects, and written participant accounts are few and far between, and often cast in heroic mould, oral testimonies provide one resource that can redeem and bring to life this crucial period of South Africa's past. ..”

- Prof Phil Bonner

Another task which archivists need to take up is to actively document voices and experiences of those who had been left out of colonial and apartheid archives.

Too often, we do not record the stories of those who are poor, without access to formal education, or who have no place to save personal records. Archivists in the postapartheid period now record and preserve these stories, often through audio or video; these oral collections form a wealth of new information about our past.

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Link: Oral History Association of SA

D. Private Archives

Personal and family papers

Businesses and individuals and other privately-owned institutions hold their own records. Often these are treated as personal or corporate private property.

Our laws do have provisions that state that information held by private persons and businesses that is needed for the public good must be placed in the public domain.

Most often, it is left to those asking to see the private information to prove that it is indeed in the public interest.

This may mean long and expensive legal battles, which civil society groups struggle to undertake. (Only 4 % of all PAIA requests are for private records; and over 60% of these are denied access.)

Corporate records A business is obliged to keep some records, such as tax information,and provide to government officials.

But corporates and businesses often argue that their records need to be kept secret, as these hold vital information about how the company succeeds in the marketplace.

Some business people, like some government officials, may have other reasons not to make records public....

...give my records to the public? That is NOT my idea of good business practice.

Publish my mom’s papers? Its too personal, it would cause a fight with all my aunts...

Archives held by private institutions Archives are a key source of knowledge. However, some institutions see compiling and preserving archives as a source of income. Many private institutions, including some universities and especially those based in Europe and North America, charge fees for researchers to access their archives. This makes it hard for people who are poor and in the Global South to share this knowledge.

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We are a world-class knowledge centre. Anyone can access our archives for only US $100 a day.

Swathes of documentary memory are being lost, especially in electronic environments. While 21st century record-keeping is primarily electronic, public archives remain geared to paper-based realities.

Numerous cases have been reported of records ‘disappearing’.

E. Digital archives Increasingly paper records are being replaced by digital archives – on disks, on main-frame computer systems, and in the internet (“the cloud”). Many records are now created on computers as digital records. There are no paper copies to store in boxes.

Digital archives are in theory easier for people to access – key words and names can be searched electronically, by computer; people can read them without travelling to a distant location where the boxes are stored; it is easier to copy and transmit information once it has been found.

But there are huge problems with digital archives, which we still need to solve.

... but where can I plug this in?

• In many countries poor people and communities still have difficulty gaining access to computers and to the internet.

For many people the ability to access digital records requires electricity. computers, smart phones, and internet connections which they do not have regularly and reliably (or sometimes at all).

• Decisions about what is important enough to digitise and store on the web are made by those in power, often by people living in the Global North. Key historical information from other countries, or from those who do not have power, cannot be found on the web.

• The process of recording and transcribing can also lose information, whether from technical problems or from a lack of understanding by technicians about what is important. (For example, see the case study on the TRC archives).

Go to: Case study TRC • And finally digital technologies age rapidly. Older digital records cannot be accessed by more modern machines, and need to be copied over into new formats.

• Also, the laws covering archives, and storing and accessing information, need to be updated to cover digital archives.

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Denying access to information hides corruption and helps protect perpetrators

4. Problems with the archives “Public archives are neither

equipped, resourced nor positioned to do the records auditing and records management support they are required to do by their mandates.

Poor record-keeping undermines service delivery cripples accountability, and creates environments in which corruption thrives.

“

- State of the Archives 2014 executive summary

22 22

A. First we must find the documents . . .

To date the records of various pre- and post-1994 government departments are neither kept at, nor do they fall under the oversight of the National Archives. This applies particularly to the records of the former state security structures such as security police, intelligence, defence, and the former bantustans. Therefore, identifying their locations and extent is essential.

B. What we do find is often problematic…

Other factors contributing to the challenges of accessing the records of the state are the result of mismanagement in government archives, general poor resourcing of state archives, skills shortage and lack of professional commitment in the national, provincial and municipal archives.

Researchers and activists have assessed the state of the government archives:

State of the Archives:

An analysis of South Africa’s national archival system, Archival Platform, 2014

This report is a joint project by the Archival Platform, the University of Cape Town and the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

It analyses in detail dysfunction and distress in archives across South Africa, from the National Archives, local government to historical archives.

The report provides a historical overview of structure and regulations of archives under colonial and apartheid rule, and moves on to how archives should be functioning in a democratic state. Part Two highlights various issues around the national archival system of government records, and it gives an overview of non-governmental archives, such as historical archives at universities.

This report concludes that while there are pockets of excellence, the national archival system is in trouble. There is no overarching policy framework, chronic underfunding prevails and a lack of resources is ubiquitous. The political will required to change things is largely absent. Simply put, the system is not able to deliver on its mandate and requires a fundamental review and rethink.

While it could be argued that social justice impulses informed much of the state’s archive-related work in the 1990s, the bold vision of that period has evaporated. Political shifts in the post-Mandela era have stifled developments in public archives services and are a fundamental cause of the crisis in public archives detailed in the 2015 Report.

In the face of these problems, the archive work done by activists in civil society is especially critical.

Download the full State of the Archives 2014 report in PDF :

Link: State of the Archives Archival Platform 2014

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C. Too much is CLASSIFIED: not in the public view Archivists, administrators, and activists usually agree that some information must remain secret: information that, if made public, could cause harm to individuals or the state. The difficulties come around what information should be classified, who makes the decision to classify it, and how those with an interest in knowing that information can declassify it.

The case for MISS classification The South African government uses a process called the Minimum Information Security Standards - or MISS - to classify information.

Different departments develop their own standards for this – from the police and intelligence services to the Department of Health.

Under MISS, information is classified as restricted, confidential, secret or top secret. Each institution appoints an official to ensure that information is correctly classified, and that security is in place to protect this information.

Access-to-information activists complain that too often officials classify information incorrectly or unnecessarily; sometimes information is kept secret to protect corruption, or incompetence, or actions which might harm communities (such as violation of environmental protection regulations).

24 Oops! this has been classified “confidential”....

Sometimes the processs of MISS classification becomes

In the Defence Force, once a document has been classified, in order to release it to the public the department must:

• submit it to the Defence Intelligence

mis-classification...

Division for scrutiny, declassification, and/or masking; • then submit it to Defence Legal Services Division for their legal recommendation; • then submit it to the Chief of the National Defence force for his recommendation; • and finally submit it to the Secretary for Defence to decide on release or refusal.

Right to Know publishes Minimum Information Security Standards regulations

Read more about MISS classification at Right to Know

D. Other information should be confidential and private

“What does protecting personal information mean?”

Another reason for refusing to release information is to protect every individual’s right to confidentiality and privacy.

Personal information relates to any information about yourself as a person, such as your ID number, contact and home address, information about your health, finances, employment, correspondence, to list some.

POPI: Protection of Personal Information In South Africa, the Protection of Personal Information Act, No 4 of 2013 - or POPI - promotes the protection of personal information by public and private bodies. The Act requires all public and private bodies to comply with the provisions in the Act when collecting, processing, storing and sharing personal information.

25 download: POPI : the Protection of Personal Information

5. Building democratic archives In South Africa today, the majority of democratic and social justice efforts concerning archives lie outside the government’s archival system. This archival activism has shaped public debate and impacted on perceptions of nationhood and citizenship over the last two decades.

A small cluster of archival activists has addressed the challenges of reconciliation, social cohesion, social justice, memory building, and the development of political accountability. These activists resist contraints on our access to information, and fight to release strategic records into the public domain.

Further, political developments over the last three years have challenged established archives and archival practices, highlighting ignored and hidden legacies of political damage, and raised demands that records feed into democratic accountability. These are challenges and demands that are especially sharply etched in South Africa, but discernible in many settings across the globe.

A. Archival activism

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In South Africa, two points have emerged: the first is the relative lack of, or knowledge of, any archive(s) of past activism,that serve as resources for newly emergent forms of activism. The second is the new activism’s determination to control its own archive of action. We see this in the way in which those affected by the Marikana Massacre and those involved in #rhodesmustfall and #feesmustfall have deliberately set out to generate records of their experiences and actions and to control the way in which these are put to use. We see something similar in the initiatives – foundations, commissioned biographies and auto-biographies – aimed at consolidating the legacies of older activists.

- Excerpted from ‘A Ground of Struggle’

“A Ground of Struggle: Four Decades of Archival Activism in South Africa” Archival Platform, 2018 This report was prepared by the Archival Platform and specifically highlights the role of archives in activism for social justice. It defines and combines terms such as ‘archive’, ‘activism’, and ‘social justice’, and the main role and key players in this field during the period 1994-2017. Case studies of how archives were used in mobilising support for archival activism include organisations such as the South African History Archive (SAHA), the Gay and Lesbian Archive (GALA), the Mayibuye Centre and the Wits History Workshop. The report also addresses archival activism in relation to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), providing case studies of “wound work and healing” from various parts of the country, and concludes with utilising new technologies in documenting “new struggles for social justice”.

A GROUND OF STRUGGLE: Download the full “Ground of Struggle: Four decades of Archival Activism in South Africa”.

Four Decades of Archival Activism in South Africa PREPARED BY THE ARCHIVAL PLATFORM

“A Ground of Struggle: Four Decades of Archival Activism in South Africa” Archival Platform 2018

27 27

B. PAIA: How it works (or does not work) “Despite the fact that PAIA has been operational since 2001, there are still far too many public and private bodies failing, or blatantly refusing, to comply with the Act.”

The Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) was introduced in 2000 as a legal process

to enable people to access information, a right which is guaranteed in the South Africa’s democratic Constitution.

PAIA was planned to provide a legal mechanism to make it easier for people to get information. It sets out the rules an institution should follow about what kinds of information should be made available on request; and it provides steps to take when a government institution or other organisation refuses to give out information.

Activists today say that, in practice, PAIA has been used not as a last resort to access information, but rather as a way to prevent giving information to the public.

Institutions often refuse to supply even open and available information; they will agree to provide that information if there is a formal PAIA request for its release. This means that even the most basic requests are stalled, and getting answer takes time, money and human resources.

Activists who request information to deal with a burning issue in the community find PAIA is often more of a blockage than help.

The TRC database was only released eight years after SAHA filed a PAIA request.

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“’You file a PAIA request, and then wait three months to see if the officials even respond.

When there is no response after three months, you then put in a follow-up request. Then you wait another month to see if there is a response to that. If the follow-up is ignored or refused, you can appeal to the senior official at the institution – but that takes more time. And then you can appeal to the courts which can take years “

PAIA manual produced by SA Government, updated 2017

download:

Government PAIA manual, 2017

SAHA: Challenges to the Realisation of PAIA

PAIA Resource Kit This 46-page resource kit was developed as a tool for the then PAIA Civil Society Network, now Access to Information (ATI) Network. It was informed by consultative processes and compiled by the South African History Archive’s (SAHA) Freedom of Information Programme as “A guide to requesting information in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA)”. It assists individuals and organisations alike and provides step-by-step guidance for requesting information from public and private bodies, together with the various forms which have to be completed when requesting access to information.

Download: SAHA’s PAIA Resource Kit

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C. Civil society organisations

that work on access to information in South Africa

The Access To Information Network The ATI Network is a network of civil society organisations that co-operate to achieve the common objective of advancing access to information rights for ordinary people in South Africa.

Access to information is a right which is protected by our Constitution. There is also a whole piece of legislation dedicated to helping ordinary people access information from the state and the private sector – this legislation is called the Promotion of Access to Information Act – or PAIA.

ATI Network member organisations include: Africa Check, amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism (amaBhungane), Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), Corruption Watch (CW), Equal Education Law Centre (EELC), Open Democracy Advice Centre (ODAC), Oxpeckers Center for Investigative Environmental Journalism (Oxpeckers), Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM), Right2Know Campaign (R2K), South African History Archive (SAHA) and Wits Justice Project.

Every year, the ATI Network releases a Shadow Report, which tracks requests for information made in terms of PAIA by members of the ATI Network, and summarises the legislation and litigation impacting on freedom of information in South Africa.

Link: Access to Information Network

Shadow Report 2018

by the Access to Information Network Since 2009 the ATN has produced a yearly “Shadow Report”, which researches the outcomes of civil society and media use of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA). The most recent, the 9th Shadow Report, covers the period from 2017 – 2018. This was released in October 2019.

The 9th Shadow Report shows a worrying decline in the number of PAIA applications over the past few years. Only 198 applications for release of information under PAIA were made in 2017- 2018; a drop of over half from the 408 applications submitted in 2015 – 2016.

Most PAIA applications (88%; 169 requests) were addressed to government departments. Of these, only 48% - 69 requests - were given some or all of the information requested (only 46 received the full information requested).

Seventy-six PAIA requests were ignored until beyond the deadline for response; or refused.

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The ATI Network concludes this decline is a direct result of the failure of government and private entities to comply with PAIA regulations. Increasingly, civil society and community structures see PAIA requests as a waste of time and resources.

Download the full Shadow Report in PDF :

Shadow Report 2018 30

Access to Information Network

Right2Know Campaign (R2K) Right to Know was launched in August 2010 and has grown into a movement centred on freedom of expression and access to information with a vision that seeks a country and a world where we all have the right to know – that is to be free to access and share information. This right is fundamental to any democracy that is open, accountable, participatory and responsive.

R2K is a democratic, activist-driven campaign that strengthens and unites citizens to raise public awareness, mobilise communities, and undertake research and targeted advocacy that aims to ensure the free flow of information necessary to meet people’s social, economic, political and ecological needs.

R2K focuses on three key priorities: Stop Secrecy – aims to ensure security legislation and the conduct of security agencies, in particular, the policing of gatherings, is aligned to the South African Constitution and underlying values.

Information Access – aims to ensure that public and private sector information is easily accessible to citizens, and that people with information of wrongdoing and/or of the suppression of information in the public interest are free and encouraged to share information with the public.

Communication Rights – aims to ensure that South Africa enjoys a free and diverse range of public, private and non-profit media and affordable access to the open and secure internet and telecommunications.

31 Link: Right2Know

Who has access to information?

D. Archives and the struggle for transitional justice in South Africa “Transitional justice” refers to measures taken to restore justice when a society moves from a repressive regime to a more humane, just system. People who have suffered need to know what happened and who was responsible. The archives play a critical role in this process.

In 1996, after the election of South Africa’s first democratic government, South Africa established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission - TRC- to “Establish as complete a picture as possible of activities during the years falling under its mandate and that it identify perpetrators of gross human rights violations”, as well as determine the “antecedent circumstances, factors and context of[gross human rights] violations as well as the causes, motives and perspectives of the persons responsible”.

After several years of investigations and hearings, the TRC reported to the nation on its findings. Its findings included recommendations about how the democratic government should handle the surviving archives of the apartheid regime, as well as the records of the TRC investigations.

The TRC’s recommendations on the archives, like many TRC recommendations, were not implemented, or only partially and haphazardly implemented.

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CASE STUDY: TRC archives

Activist and civil society groups have waged a long campaign demanding that the records of apartheid era violations must be both preserved and open to the public, in line with the TRC recommendations.

What happened to the TRC archives and TRC recommendations?

The TRC made recommendations about how its work should be archived, and how the archives should preserve material from the apartheid era.

1. The TRC recommended the following for the TRC archives: THE RECORDS OF THE COMMISSION’S PROCEEDINGS, THIS REPORT AND THE RECORDED AUDIO AND VIDEO TAPES OF THE PUBLIC HEARINGS FORM A RICH CONTRIBUTION TO THE PUBLIC MEMORY, AND SHOULD BE MADE AVAILABLE IN THE WIDEST POSSIBLE WAY. MUSEUMS WHICH CELEBRATE DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE PAST SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED AND MAINTAINED. (TRC Report Vol 5 p. 308) The TRC noted that preserving and publicizing records would have immediate implication for prosecutions: WHERE AMNESTY HAS NOT BEEN SOUGHT OR HAS BEEN DENIED, PROSECUTION SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WHERE EVIDENCE EXISTS THAT AN INDIVIDUAL HAS COMMITTED A GROSS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION. IN THIS REGARD, THE COMMISSION WILL MAKE AVAILABLE TO THE APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES INFORMATION IN ITS POSSESSION CONCERNING SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS AGAINST INDIVIDUALS. (p. 309) The Commission recommended that: ALL COMMISSION RECORDS BE TRANSFERRED TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES … ALL COMMISSION RECORDS BE ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC, UNLESS COMPELLING REASONS EXIST FOR DENYING SUCH ACCESS, BEARING IN MIND THAT THE INDIVIDUAL’S RIGHTS TO PRIVACY, CONFIDENTIALITY AND RELATED MATTERS MUST BE RESPECTED. VICTIMS HAVE THE RIGHT OF ACCESS TO THEIR OWN FILES, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THESE ARE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE OR NOT. VICTIMS SHOULD BE PROVIDED WITH A COPY OF THEIR FILE IF THEY SO WISH. (p. 344)

• BECAUSE COMMISSION RECORDS ARE LESS THAN TWENTY YEARS OLD, ACCESS TO THESE RECORDS BE DETERMINED BY THE NATIONAL ARCHIVIST IN TERMS OF SECTION 12(1) OF THE ARCHIVES ACT. • IN THE CASE OF RECORD CATEGORIES IDENTIFIED AS REQUIRING PROTECTION, THE NATIONAL ARCHIVIST REFER REQUESTS FOR ACCESS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. IN THE CASE OF ALL OTHER RECORD CATEGORIES, A POLICY OF UNRESTRICTED PUBLIC ACCESS SHOULD BE APPLIED. • THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION, WHICH IS ALREADY IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, BE MADE AVAILABLE AS SOON AS PRACTICALLY POSSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC: TRANSCRIPTS OF HEARINGS; REASONS FOR AMNESTY DECISIONS; PUBLIC STATEMENTS ISSUED BY THE COMMISSION; ALL OTHER MATERIAL ALREADY AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC ON THE COMMISSION’S INTERNET WEBSITE (www.truth.org.za).

• THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES TAKE OVER THE COMMISSION’S INTERNET WEBSITE, CONTINUE TO MAKE EXISTING MATERIAL – INCLUDING THE REPORT OF THE COMMISSION – AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC, LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY, ON THE WEBSITE, AND EXPAND THE WEBSITE IN CREATIVE WAYS (TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE FACT THAT MANY COMMISSION RECORDS ARE STORED IN COMPUTER FILES). (p. 344-345)

2. What happened to the apartheid archives: The apartheid government in its last years destroyed vast amounts of security and state records. Some historians have named this the “Paper Auschwitz”.

In post-1994 South Africa, many of the apartheid era records in various Government departments still remain classified. Other states which have undergone drastic system changes, subsequently introduced laws which allowed for the opening of classified records generated by certain Government departments of the former regimes. This is not the case in South Africa.

CASE STUDY: TRC archives

THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES BE USED TO DETERMINE ACCESS TO COMMISSION RECORDS IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES:

The TRC Commission noted that it “has had little success in its efforts to access the archives of the former South African Defence Force (SADF), despite the fact that significant holdings still remain in the custody of the SANDF. The limited access that the Commission did manage to obtain was controlled, selected and censored by the SANDF nodal point.” (p. 320) The TRC therefore recommended that: A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS BY INDEPENDENT RESEARCHERS BE UNDERTAKEN INTO BOTH THE SCOPE AND CONTENT OF THE REMAINING ARCHIVAL HOLDINGS OF THE FORMER SADF. ONCE SUCH AN ANALYSIS HAS BEEN COMPLETED, THAT THESE DOCUMENTS, PRESENTLY WITHIN THE ARCHIVES OF MILITARY INTELLIGENCE, BE SUBJECTED TO THE ARCHIVES ACT AND BE TRANSFERRED TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES. (p. 330) The Commission further recommended that: THE MINISTRY OF SAFETY AND SECURITY TRANSFER ALL SURVIVING SECURITY BRANCH RECORDS TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES. THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY AND SOUTH AFRICAN SECRET SERVICE TAKE APPROPRIATE STEPS TO FINALISE THE SECURING OF ALL DOCUMENTATION PRE-DATING 1995 IN THEIR CUSTODY, AND THAT SUCH DOCUMENTATION BE SUBJECTED TO APPRAISAL BY THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES. NO STATE RECORDS PERTAINING TO HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES BE DESTROYED WITHOUT THE EXPRESS APPROVAL OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVIST, EVEN IF OTHER DISPOSAL AUTHORITIES AUTHORISE SUCH ACTION. THE SECURITY ESTABLISHMENT MAKE EVERY ATTEMPT TO LOCATE AND RETRIEVE DOCUMENTS REMOVED WITHOUT AUTHORISATION BY OPERATIVES OF APARTHEID SECURITY STRUCTURES. THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES BE ENABLED

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Download the full TRC Report Vol 5 in PDF :

Link: TRC Report Vol 5

CASE STUDY: TRC archives 34

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TO FILL THE GAPS IN OFFICIAL MEMORY, THROUGH THE COLLECTION OF NON-PUBLIC RECORDS AND THE PROMOTION OF ORAL HISTORY PROJECTS (IN TERMS OF SECTION 3(D) OF THE ARCHIVES ACT).

THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES BE GIVEN THE NECESSARY RESOURCES TO TAKE TRANSFER OF, PROCESS PROFESSIONALLY AND MAKE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC, THE RECORDS OF THE COMMISSION (WHICH IN THEMSELVES FILL MANY GAPS IN SOUTH AFRICA’S SOCIAL MEMORY). (p. 346) Destruction of Documents: Measures must be implemented to prevent the destruction of records which form part of our history, however unpleasant. Particularly cynical is the deliberate destruction of records which may incriminate individuals or groups in power. To prevent such destruction, appropriate legal powers must be given to the state’s public archives service. The Archives Act provides the necessary legislative framework, but requires rigorous implementation. (p.345)

3. What happened to the TRC’s Victims Database The TRC recommended that the information gathered during its investigations and hearings should be made public, on an expanded website, in museums, and in accessible archives. This did not happen.

During its investigations, the TRC had developed a database that recorded evidence submitted in its hearings; this database included details of the violations, victims, perpetrators, and witnesses. The information presented at the hearings was corroborated by researchers and investigators; data capturers analysed and entered hand-written documents into a database.

When the TRC ended its work, the Department of Justice took over the database, to support the post-TRC processes, including the process of paying reparations, and prosecutions for perpetrators who did not receive amnesty.

After a number of years, civil society groups demanded that the TRC information should be placed in the public domain – as the TRC had recommended. Eventually, the South African History Archive (SAHA) made an application under PAIA to get access to the data. In 2016, after a decade of requests, two PAIA applications, and bringing a court case, the Department of Justice agreed in an out-of-court settlement to release the data. This was done after the DOJ redacted information such as ID and passport numbers and bank details.

On obtaining the database, SAHA had to completely reconstruct the digital structure of the information, apparently as a result of a massive technical error that occurred when it was archived by the DOJ. SAHA employed IT technicians who first developed the database to do this.

In June 2019, SAHA finally launched the TRC Victims database into the public domain. With the launch, SAHA director Dr Geraldine Frieslaar expressed the hope that this would ensure that “South Africans will wake from collective amnesia and that the database will be a living memorial for those who were casualties of apartheid”.

Is it time to free the apartheid archives?

Political events in recent years are increasingly characterised by a climate of secrecy and intrigue, particularly in government departments comprising the so-called security cluster. This trend not only impacts on responsible record keeping in the postapartheid state, but also continues inhibiting a critical engagement with records created by the former apartheid government.

Moreover, the National Archives and other government archives are lacking basic crucial skills and capacities to

CASE STUDY: TRC archives

Eventually, the database was archived; however, a different technology was used to transfer the database into the archives, and the resulting digital collection was unusable.

a) adhere to their record keeping and oversight functions; and b) to initiate processes of declassifying apartheid state records.

States which have recently undergone drastic system changes followed by transition, such as Germany and countries in South America, subsequently introduced legislation which allowed for the opening of classified records generated by the former regimes. This is not the case in South Africa, where many of the records of the apartheid state remain classified.

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Excerpt from: Is it time to free the Apartheid Archives? Archives and Democracy colloquium, Wits 24 August 2017

WE DEMAND: DECLASSSIFY APARTHEID ARCHIVES NOW!

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6. More Resources and Research

A. Feedback platforms by researchers using SA archives Websites “ArchivesMadeEasy”

website compiled by Jamie Miller (“An African Volk : the apartheid regime and its search for survival”), who worked extensively with Govt and University archives http://archivesmadeeasy.pbworks.com/w/ page/3878946/Archives%20Made%20Easy%20 -%20Home%20Page

“Researching the global cold war in South Africa’s archives”,

by Robin Möser, who is writing his PhD on SA nuclear and cold war history

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/ researching-the-global-cold-war-south-africasarchives

“Republic of South Africa Archives”,

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Research report by Sue Onslow http://archivesmadeeasy.pbworks.com/w/ file/24649493/onslow_south_african_archives. pdf

B. Book projects Paper Wars: Access to Information in South Africa Edited by Kate Allan,

Wits University Press, 2009 SAHA's Freedom of Information co-ordinator from 2005 to 2007 and published by Wits University Press in 2009, Paper Wars reflects upon the work SAHA has done around testing the parameters of South Africa's freedom of information legislation, the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) and provides insight into some of the difficulties information activists and requesters have encountered as they have attempted to put South Africa's constitutional right of access to information into practice.

DOWNLOAD Paper Wars

Incorruptible: the story of the murders of Dulcie September, Anton Lubowski and Chris Hani

by Evelyn Groenink

Johannesburg, RSA; Jacana Media Pty, 2018

The Unspoken Alliance: Israel's Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa

by Sasha Polakow-Suransky

Johannesburg, RSA; Jacana Media Pty, 2010

Apartheid guns and money: A tale of profit

by Hennie van Vuuren.

Johannesburg, RSA; Jacana Media Pty, 2018

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Refiguring the Archive

edited by Carolyn Hamilton, Verne Harris, Jane Taylor, Michele Pickover, Graeme Reid & Razia Saleh Cape Town, RSA; New Africa Books (Pty) Ltd, David Phillip Publishers, 2002

C. The International arena International Council on Archives (ICA)

The International Council for Archives (ICA) is the professional body for archives worldwide and exists as a non-governmental, neutral international organisation, funded by its members.

Their website has information on:

Link: ICA

• What are archives, who is an archivist, what should one archive • The various expert groups, such as the ICA Africa Programme; the Human Rights Working Group; photographic and other special format archives; archives buildings and facilities; legal matters in archives and Training programmes • How to get support and advice from the ICA’s Professional Sections, some of them being on Sport, Faith Traditions, Architectural Archives, Business Archives, and Literary and Artistic Archives

Human Rights Working Group of the ICA (HRWG-ICA)

Link: HRWG

“The Human Rights Working Group disseminates information on the importance of archives to defend human rights and the use of archives in protesting the violations of human rights. It issues a monthly newsletter on archives and human rights, it develops projects to increase the co-operation between ICA and archival services and administrations in the field of human rights, and it supports better and wider use of the archives in the defense of human rights.”

In doing so the HRWG-ICA develops working instruments and documents particularly in support of human rights archives, some of which are scattered, are hidden and endangered.

• “Basic principles on the role of archivists and records managers in support of human rights” https://www.ica.org/en/basic-principles-role-archivists-and-records-managers-support-human-rights • “Guiding principles for Safe Havens for archives at risk” https://www.ica.org/en/guiding-principles-for-safe-havens-for-archives-at-risk The ICA is supported by international organisations such as SwissPeace, who too have published documents and tools in order to guide archivist and civil society • “Mapping archives for dealing with the past processes” https://www.swisspeace.ch/publications/essentials/ mapping-archives-for-dealing-with-the-past-processes • “Securing Police Archives. A Guide for practitioners” https://www.swisspeace.ch/publications/essentials/securingpolice-archives-a-guide-for-practitioners

38 “Atrocity’s Archives: The role of archives in transitional justice” This position paper is the outcome of a workshop in March 2018, which was aimed at understanding the role of archives in Transitional Justice, particularly in countries emerging from oppressive regimes.

Link: Atrocity’s

Archives

ON

UNIVERSAL ARCHIVES

Universal Declaration on Archives

The Declaration was adopted at the General Assembly of the International Council on Archives Oslo, September 2010, and endorsed by the 36th Session of the General Conference of UNESCO Paris, November 2011. It outlines the importance of archives for good governance, for documenting the past and as a source of heritage and memory.

DECLARATION

ON

ARCHIVES

Link: Universal Declaration

on Archives

Archives record decisions, actions and memories. Archives are a unique and irreplaceable heritage passed from one generation to another. Archives are managed from creation to preserve their value and meaning. They are authoritative sources of information underpinning accountable and transparent administrative actions. They play an essential role in the development of societies by safeguarding and

individual and community memory.

Open access to archives enriches our knowledge Archives record decisions, actions and memories. Archivescontributing are a tounique and irreplaceable heritage of human society, promotes democracy, protects citizens’ rights and enhances the quality of life.

passed from one generation to another. Archives are managed from creation to preserve their value and meaning. They are authoritative sources of information underpinning accountable and transparent To this effect, we recognize

We therefore undertake to work together

order that administrative actions. They play an essential role in the development of societies byin safeguarding and ■ the unique quality of archives as authentic evidence of administrative, cultural and intellectual activities and as a reflection of the evolution of societies; ■ the vital necessity of archives for supporting business efficiency, accountability and transparency, for protecting citizens rights, for establishing individual and collective memory, for understanding the past, and for documenting the present to guide future actions; ■ the diversity of archives in recording every area of human activity; ■ the multiplicity of formats in which archives are created including paper, electronic, audio visual and other types; ■ the role of archivists as trained professionals with initial and continuing education, serving their societies by supporting the creation of records and by selecting, maintaining and making these records available for use; ■ the collective responsibility of all – citizens, public administrators and decision-makers, owners or holders of public or private archives, and archivists and other information specialists – in the management of archives.

■ appropriate national archival policies and laws are adopted and enforced; ■ the management of archives is valued and carried out competently by all bodies, private or public, which create and use archives in the course of conducting their business; ■ adequate resources are allocated to support the proper management of archives, including the employment of trained professionals; ■ archives are managed and preserved in ways that ensure their authenticity, reliability, integrity and usability; ■ archives are made accessible to everyone, while respecting the pertinent laws and the rights of individuals, creators, owners and users; ■ archives are used to contribute to the promotion of responsible citizenship.

contributing to individual and community memory. Open access to archives enriches our knowledge of human society, promotes democracy, protects citizens’ rights and enhances the quality of life.

To this effect, we recognize ■ the unique quality of archives as authentic evidence of administrative, cultural and intellectual activities and as a reflection of the evolution of societies; ■ the vital necessity of archives for supporting business efficiency, accountability and transparency, for protecting citizens rights, for establishing individual and collective memory, for understanding the past, and for documenting the present to guide future actions; ■ the diversity of archives in recording every area of human activity; ■ the multiplicity of formats in which archives are created including paper, electronic, audio visual and other types; ■ the role of archivists as trained professionals with initial and continuing education, serving their societies by supporting the creation of records and by selecting, maintaining and making these records available for use; ■ the collective responsibility of all – citizens, public administrators and decision-makers, owners or holders of public or private archives, and archivists and other information specialists – in the management of archives.

Adopted at the General Assembly of the International Council on Archives Oslo, September 2010. Endorsed by 36th Session of the General Conference of UNESCO Paris, November 2011.

We therefore undertake to work together in order that

■ appropriate national archival policies and laws are adopted and enforced; ■ the management of archives is valued and carried out competently by all bodies, private or public, which create and use archives in the course of conducting their business; ■ adequate resources are allocated to support the proper management of archives, including the employment of trained professionals; ■ archives are managed and preserved in ways that ensure their authenticity, reliability, integrity and usability; ■ archives are made accessible to everyone, while respecting the pertinent laws and the rights of individuals, creators, owners and users; ■ archives are used to contribute to the promotion of responsible citizenship.

Adopted at the General Assembly of the International Council on Archives Oslo, September 2010. Endorsed by 36th Session of the General Conference of UNESCO Paris, November 2011.

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The following organisations collaborated in developing this People’s Guide: Wits History Workshop It is 40 years since the History Workshop was founded by a handful of intellectuals committed to contributing to the breaking down of apartheid, in the wake of a powerful resurgence of student and worker militancy in the 1970s.

Link: Wits

History Workshop

The History Workshop has since become an interdisciplinary research group of academics mainly drawn from within the social sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand. Since its inception in 1977, the History Workshop has been promoting research into the lives, experiences and social worlds of people and communities in South Africa that have by and large been neglected by scholars.

A second guiding concern for the History Workshop has been the endeavour to collaborate with communities and to open these histories to other people including, significantly, those whose lives the research is about. Oral history methodology has been the backbone of the group’s activities and research projects over nearly four decades.

The group is involved in a range of heritage and public history projects (including published community histories, exhibitions and museums, and other major public history initiatives), and holds regular seminars, book launches, conferences, oral history training workshops and history training projects for school teachers.

Link: PARI

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PARI – Public Affairs Research Institute The Public Affairs Research Institute is a Johannesburg-based organisation that studies the effectiveness of state institutions in the delivery of services and infrastructure. We generate high quality research to better understand the drivers of institutional performance in the public sector, and improve implementation of policies in relevant fields.

PARI heads the Organisational and Institutional Studies Department at the University of the Witwatersrand, offering degree programmes in the study of the state and society.

Historical Papers Research Archive The Historical Papers Research Archive was established at the University of the Witswatersrand (Wits) over fifty years ago. Today, Historical Papers provides an accessible centre for research for both the University and the broader community. Historical Papers archives the records of many South African human rights NGOs, trade unions, labour federations, political parties, women’s organisations, churches and church bodies, the papers of human rights activists, records of political trials, photographs, press clippings, oral interviews, and

Link: Wits Historical Papers Research Archive

material collected by research institutions and individual researchers.

South African History Archives (SAHA) The South African History Archive (SAHA) is an independent human rights archive founded y anti-apartheid activists in the 1980s linked to the United Democratic Front, the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the African National Congress. Today SAHA is politically non-aligned, committed to: • Recapturing lost and neglected histories; • Recording aspects of South African democracy in the making; • Bringing history out of the archives and into schools, universities and communities in new and innovative ways; • Extending freedom of information in South Africa; • Raise awareness of the role of archives and documentation in promoting and defending human rights.

Link: SAHA

This project is sponsored by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung with funds of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany. This publication or parts of it can be used by others for free as long as they provide a proper reference to the original publication.

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Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Johannesburg office

Design and graphics by Judy Seidman