Records Management Journal, Vol. 10, No.

1, April 2000
© Aslib, The Association for Information Management.
All rights reserved. Except as otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior
written permission of the publisher.

Records and archives as

a basis for good government:
implications and challenges for
records managers and archivists
in Africa

JUSTUS WAMUKOYA

Abstract
This article looks at the need to manage public sector records as evidence and as
a means of controlling how government resources are used, as well as a vital
source of information for empowering the people of Africa. The author exam-
ines the role of records and of record keeping within the context of three distinct
domains – business, accountability and culture – and the contribution of records
managers and archivists to the process of democratic governance.

Introduction

During the 1980s and 1990s most of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa
embraced structural adjustment programmes (SAPs), widely seen by the
global donor community as the remedy for economic hardships experi-
enced by these countries. They also saw SAPs as providing the best
opportunity to implement public sector reforms in order to promote
better use of public resources and better accountability by governments
to their citizens. The theme of this article is the role of records and
archives as a basis for good government. It looks at the need to manage
public sector records as evidence and as a means of controlling how gov-
ernment resources are used, and also as a vital source of information for
empowering the people.

Record keeping is a fundamental and core activity of public sector man-

agement. Without records there can be no accountability and no rule of

Records Management Journal, vol. 10, no. 1, April 2000, pp. 23–33
Aslib, The Association for Information Management
Staple Hall, Stone House Court, London EC3A 7PB
Tel: +44 (0) 171 903 0000, Fax: +44 (0) 171 903 0011
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 Records Management Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1, April 2000
© Aslib, The Association for Information Management.
All rights reserved. Except as otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
Records Management Journal vol. 10 no. 1

law. Public servants require information in order to discharge their offi-

cial duties and responsibilities efficiently, effectively, and in a transpar-
ent manner. Records represent a major source of information, and are
almost the only reliable and legally verifiable data source that can serve
as evidence of decisions, actions and transactions in the public service.
As Dr Anne Thurston notes, “if governments are to be held accountable
for their actions and if the public is to have legally enforceable rights of
access to government information, then it is essential to ensure that evi-
dence is accurately and securely preserved. Without reliable, authentic
documentary evidence, government cannot demonstrate to society that it
has used state resources responsibility and that it has fulfilled its man-
date to the people. Economic crime cannot be proven, and citizens rights
cannot be protected”.1

The changing role of records and archives

The records and archives professions are not static by nature. Like all other
information professions they have been changing constantly with regard to
the functions they render to society. Initially, records and archives services
were associated with the ruling elite, and archival institutions served as
depositories of important documents and titles of the state. With the pas-
sage of time, these institutions became depositories for records with cultural
and historical value. Today, records and archives have acquired new uses
and functions, increasingly serving as the guardians of the rights of the
people and of institutions, public as well as private.

Records and archives also play an important role in specific areas of

national development by providing recorded information which is essen-
tial in the formulation of national development policies and plans. In
developing countries, records and archives are particularly important since
they assist governments maintain a consistent pattern in policy formula-
tion and implementation. Among their other uses, records and archives
also act as raw materials for research in various disciplines including
science research, which is an important ingredient of socio-economic
development. Therefore, the uses and functions of records and archives
can be summed up as ranging from cultural, historical, legal, economic
and scientific to promotion of good governance and accountability.

Definition of the term good government

According to the World Bank, the term good government is broadly

defined as the manner in which power is exercised in the management
and utilisation of a country’s economic and social resources for nation-
al development. Good government encompasses political legitimacy,
accountability, transparency, openness and the rule of law.2

24
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 Records Management Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1, April 2000
© Aslib, The Association for Information Management.
All rights reserved. Except as otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
April 2000 Records and archives as a basis for good government

Meanwhile, John Healey and Mark Robinson observe that accountability

is among the most important foundations of good government. Firstly,
it means the sharing of the control and purposes of political power, imply-
ing a relationship of reciprocity between the rulers and the ruled.
Secondly, it recognises the existence of constitutional devices to ensure
that those in power are held accountable for their actions. Thirdly, it refers
to the ability of interest groups and associations within civil society to curb
the hegemony (political domination) of the state.3 Peter Blunt illustrates
the apparent link between governmental accountability and recorded
information by stating that “bureaucratic accountability and transparency
are heavily dependent upon the availability and validity of information”.4

The three domains associated with record keeping

For archivists and records managers an appropriate place to begin is by

exploring the issue of why we create records and why we need to manage
them. This question leads us to another equally important question, what
are our obligations as archivists and records managers in relation to
record keeping? There are probably a myriad answers to these questions
but, in the view of this author, the need for records and the role of record
keeping operates in three distinct domains. The three domains have
recently been defined by information experts as comprising: the business
domain, the accountability domain, and the cultural domain.5

The business domain

The business domain requires that records must be produced and main-
tained to support the essential activities of the business process.
Therefore, firstly, the records establish precedent and decision-makers
must draw upon these to ensure consistency and reliability of decision
making. Secondly, the evidential nature of records demonstrates that the
actions were indeed carried out and the records thus provide evidence of
the conduct of business. Thirdly, records have no longer term business
needs which help to provide continuity in specific business functions and
activities. Such records not only serve long-term reference needs by pro-
viding a record of the successes or failures of past business transactions,
they also ensure that we do not re-invent the wheel.

The accountability domain

The accountability domain determines whether organisations or individ-

uals have met defined organisational, business, legal, social or moral
obligations. Records as evidence therefore underpin all relationships
whether social, legal, moral or business. Governments need to maintain

25
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 Records Management Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1, April 2000
© Aslib, The Association for Information Management.
All rights reserved. Except as otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
Records Management Journal vol. 10 no. 1

accurate and reliable records as a tool to ensure just and fair treatment
of their citizens. But as research has shown, the chaotic state of public
records in many African countries, and the near collapse of record keep-
ing systems in some of the countries makes it virtually impossible to
determine responsibility for official actions and to hold individuals
accountable for their actions. This failure to manage records properly
has been a contributory factor to the growing menace of corruption in
the running of public affairs and the loss of public confidence in the jus-
tice system. On the other hand, proper maintenance of records and the
proper provision of information empowers citizens to exercise their civil
rights, providing them with information and data which they can use to
question or criticise government actions, and hold government officials
accountable. Provision of accurate and reliable and verifiable informa-
tion also helps them to detect and prevent corruption or other fraudu-
lent dealings which undermine the efficient and effective provision of
services by public servants.

The cultural domain

The cultural domain demands that records are preserved and made
available to society for posterity and for historical research. Since
records document organisational history over time, these provide the
basis for writing our cultural and national history. It is this sense of his-
tory that has for centuries motivated archivists to be concerned about
the survival of official records ensuring that those with enduring value
are transferred and retained permanently in the archives as part of the
collective human experience and memory.

While archivists in most African countries have been adept at preserving

the historical record, their role has continued to remain rather passive as
concerns the management of current records. This situation is not likely
to improve or change given that in many of these countries, national
archival institutions, which have statutory responsibility for government
records, have either had their budgetary allocations cut or they continue
to receive very modest increases in their annual budgets. This overall
decline in state funding has made it impossible for archival institutions
to meet their statutory obligations. The issue of inadequate financial
resources is therefore one reason very few archival institutions have actu-
ally been able to play an active role in the management of current and
semi-current records which are often held in ministries and departments.
In many cases, these institutions lack adequate human and financial
resource capacity to effectively play a pro-active role in the management
of records while in their current and semi-current stages.

This failure to manage records from creation to disposition not only weak-
ens accountability but also has serious consequences for good governance.
Among the consequences is the inability by citizens or their representatives

26
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 Records Management Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1, April 2000
© Aslib, The Association for Information Management.
All rights reserved. Except as otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior
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April 2000 Records and archives as a basis for good government

through parliamentary Public Accounts Committees (PAC) and Public

Investment Committees (PIC) to effectively evaluate audit government
programmes by both having access to relevant, reliable and complete
information. This view is corroborated by information from the World
Bank which, in 1996, cited poor record keeping in the Gambia as one of
the factors which contributed to the lack of transparency in the revenue
collection process.6 Such situations, Pino Akotia suggests, can be
redeemed through integrating accounting and record keeping systems. He
notes that “public records if well-managed have the potential of providing
a meaningful resource by which both the executive and the government
could present themselves as honest, well-meaning and accountable.”7

The need to manage records from creation to disposition

If records are to meet the requirements for accountability and good gov-
ernance, their management must cover the whole extent of their existence
i.e. from creation to disposition. For many years, the life cycle model
served this purpose quite well until some archivists somewhere pointed
out what they considered its major weakness. They disagreed with the
assumption on which the life-cycle concept was based i.e. that record
entities went through a series of separate and distinct stages, with each
stage ending with disposition. They, therefore, sought to correct what
they considered a misrepresentation. To articulate this general concern,
Jay Atherton, in the mid 1980s, proposed in an article in Archivaria8 to
replace the life cycle concept with the continuum model. The records
continuum model focuses on the management of records as a continuous
process. It sees the management of records in terms of the business
process or the functions and activities of the organisation which the
records document. In other words, the continuum model addresses the
issue of the type of records that need to be captured to provide evidence
of a particular function or activity, the systems and procedures needed
to ensure that the records are captured and maintained, how long the
records should be kept to meet business needs and to fulfil other require-
ments, how they should be stored and who should have access to them.9

The continuum model is today the subject of a lively and on-going

debate particularly in North America and Australia involving distin-
guished names in the information profession such as Frank Upward, Sue
McKemmish, David Bearman and Barbara Reed. However, in develop-
ing countries including ESARBICA countries, the continuum concept,
like its precursor the life-cycle concept, is likely to remain just a concept.

Record keeping and good governance

Records are important to every aspect of the governance process. The

key governance objectives cannot be attained without the availability of

27
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 Records Management Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1, April 2000
© Aslib, The Association for Information Management.
All rights reserved. Except as otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
Records Management Journal vol. 10 no. 1

certain types of records to support them. To strengthen and safeguard

the rule of law, for instance, proper legislative records, court records,
police records as well as prison records must be maintained. In order to
demonstrate transparency and accountability there must be proper
accounting records, procurement records, tax records, customs records,
electoral records, etc. Similarly, pension records, land records, property
records, social security records and birth and death records are essential
to the protection of citizens’ rights and their other entitlements.
Meanwhile, provision of services to citizens depends on the availability
of various types of records including policy records, case records
e.g. hospital, school, personnel and accounting records.

The failure to manage these records by organisations, particularly pub-

lic organisations, has greatly undermined the governance process in
many African countries. Whereas the scale of the problem may vary
from one country to another, on the whole bad governance remains
a matter of serious concern among citizens of these countries. We all
know that frequent loss of court files seriously undermines the efficient
administration of justice causing unnecessary adjournment of court hear-
ings. Court clerks, land registry clerks, police officers and insurance
agents often use the excuse of missing files or incomplete records to solic-
it bribes from unsuspecting members of the public before services can be
rendered. Unfortunately, a majority of those who are asked for ‘Chai’ or
‘TKK’ as the vice is known in Kenya are often those who live below the
poverty line. In many African countries, government payrolls are inflat-
ed with ghost workers due to the poor state of personnel records. Also
too familiar is the story of delayed pension payments due to unavail-
ability or incompleteness of pension records. Too frequently, citizens
complain about inflated water, electricity and telephone bills which are
the result of poor record keeping.

Impact of technology on record keeping and good governance

Traditionally, records have been created and maintained in paper form.

This is still largely the case in many African countries and certainly in
the majority of ESARBICA countries. As a result, records managers and
archivists in the region have chiefly been accustomed to working with
paper records so much so that there has been a tendency to perceive the
records and archives professions in the context of a paper-based envi-
ronment. Our training in these professions has also tended to focus
a great deal on records in traditional formats.

The reality is that emerging technologies are rapidly changing the envi-
ronment in which we all work. At the same time, the advent of new
technologies and their growing adoption and use in organisations is
rapidly changing the way those organisations work, make decisions,

28
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 Records Management Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1, April 2000
© Aslib, The Association for Information Management.
All rights reserved. Except as otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior
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April 2000 Records and archives as a basis for good government

communicate and even the way they document their activities. Therefore,
as records managers and archivists, we must start paying much greater
attention to information in other formats, particularly electronic formats.
Similarly, we should pay attention to the relationship between paper and
electronic records.

The period between the 1960s and 1980s witnessed some of the most rev-
olutionary technological advances in computer technology. Since then,
computers have been introduced in both public and private sector busi-
ness operations on a scale that was never anticipated. As a result, many
records managers and archivists are now increasingly having to deal with
or provide professional advice on issues related to records in electronic
formats of which they themselves have little or no experience. The dawn
of the electronic age has inevitably created new challenges which records
managers and archivists must urgently address. For example, who cre-
ates and who takes responsibility for capturing and filing the electronic
record; what procedures and standards need to be observed to ensure
that information in electronic media is accurate, complete, reliable and
authentic; and what conditions need to be provided for electronic
records to be admissible as evidence in a court of law. These issues and
others have major implications for good governance and accountability.
It is therefore important that record systems whether manual or auto-
mated should be planned in ways that meet requirements for good gov-
ernance and accountability.

What is needed to strengthen good governance

As earlier stated, record keeping is a fundamental activity of public

administration. Records underpin all aspects of public administration
and public servants need to have access to accurate, reliable, timely and
complete information in order to implement government programmes
and to provide efficient services to citizens. In many African countries,
much of the information required by public servants to discharge their
duties is inaccessible because of the huge backlogs of non-current, paper-
based records which are to be found in most ministries and departments.
This is a situation most in the ESARBICA region are quite familiar with.

The first step records managers and archivists need to take is to clear
these backlogs of non-current records that are no longer useful for cur-
rent business needs from ministries and departments. Such action besides
facilitating access to valuable information will serve as a starting point
for restructuring existing systems. Once this is successfully accomplished,
the next step should be to develop a comprehensive strategy for record
keeping. The strategy must, of necessity, take account of the need to
manage records based on the life-cycle and continuum principles. The
strategy should aim to establish physical as well as intellectual control

29
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 Records Management Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1, April 2000
© Aslib, The Association for Information Management.
All rights reserved. Except as otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
Records Management Journal vol. 10 no. 1

over all records created within the public service. Such a strategy should
specifically address the need for a legal and regulatory framework, an
appropriate organisational structure, comprehensive records control sys-
tems and procedures, awareness raising, relevant training and the provi-
sion of appropriate physical storage facilities.

Most countries in the ESARBICA region do have some form of archival

legislation statutes to regulate archival activities. However, many pieces of
the legislation have been in place for many years without revision and it is
time these were up-dated; firstly, to provide for effective co-ordination of
records policy throughout the different phases of the records continuum
and, secondly, to cater for electronic records and governance issues ema-
nating from record keeping.

The question of organisational placement of the national archives with-

in the civil service structure is not new. While it is not easy for archivists
to influence government decision making as to where to place the nation-
al archives in the government structure, they should strive to find allies
among senior civil servants who are likely to speak on their behalf on
matters such as this. Ideally, archival services should come under key
central ministries with over-arching responsibilities across government.
Records and archival agencies should be accorded appropriate status in
the public service and should be allocated adequate financial and human
resources to enable them to carry out their responsibilities. Other
archival institutions may wish to learn from the experience of the Kenya
National Archives and Documentation Service which has been able to
receive increased funding from the Government by having strong allies
in the Treasury as well as the parent ministry of Home Affairs and
National Heritage. Archival institutions must also work closely with
government agencies responsible for personnel matters to provide train-
ing opportunities and clearly defined career paths for records staff as
a way of retaining staff within the public service.

The role of records managers and archivists must be to ensure that

records systems operating in various departments and ministries are well
structured. A properly structured records system is one which ensures
that the filing of correspondence and related papers follow an appropri-
ate filing system, that papers and files are properly indexed, the move-
ment of papers is properly controlled, and an appropriate scheduling
programme exists. A comprehensive records management programme
also needs to ensure that policies and procedures are established to
manage both paper and electronic records.

In Africa, the generally low level of staff manning registries is indicative

of the low status public servants accord record keeping. It is the duty of
records managers and archivists to make public servants and the general
public aware of the importance of information in general and records in

30
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 Records Management Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1, April 2000
© Aslib, The Association for Information Management.
All rights reserved. Except as otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
April 2000 Records and archives as a basis for good government

particular in supporting decision making, accountability and good gov-

ernance. They should therefore strive to develop and nurture a culture of
record keeping in all institutions, public as well as private. This can be
achieved through a combination of methods including workshops, semi-
nars, conference, public lectures, exhibitions, community projects out-
reach programmes, etc.

Training is an important component of modern management. Records

personnel at all levels require appropriate training, not only to acquire
new knowledge and skills, but also to gain confidence in what they do.
Users too need awareness training to acquaint them with existing pro-
grammes and how to exploit them to their benefit. Such training must be
relevant and on-going. It must include both formal and informal
approaches such as on the job training. A majority of the records man-
agers and archivists in the ESARBICA region received their training
abroad. However, in view of the hard economic times, African countries
can ill afford to send many students to study abroad. Archival institutions
too can ill afford to send staff on overseas courses. There is a handful of
schools that offer training in the region. Regional bodies such as ESAR-
BICA should consider providing support to these schools in the areas of
curricula, professional development, teaching materials, etc. Finally, if
records are to remain accurate, reliable, authentic and complete, they must
be stored in an environment that guarantees safety and security.

Conclusion

Records are the cornerstone of a just and democratic society. It is for

this reason that people, as well as organisations, turn to records for the
protection of their rights. Poor records keeping on the other hand seri-
ously undermines the administration of justice and should be avoided,
through professional intervention by records managers and archivists.
The contribution of records managers and archivists to the democratic
governance process should be to ensure that the right records are creat-
ed and maintained to provide evidence of actions and transactions and
to make these available when required, so that the key players and
actors, entrusted to safeguard the ‘public good’, can be held accountable
for their actions.

In Kenya, the controller and auditor-general has always made it a point

to include in his report the failure by Ministries and Departments to
maintain comprehensive records of decisions made and the destruction
of certain essential records without proper authorisation.

In a democracy, records are of the people, by the people, for the people.
Therefore, at the dawning of the new millennium the expectation of the
general public will be for public agencies to be more open and accountable
in their decision making. To support these aspirations, it will be the duty

31
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 Records Management Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1, April 2000
© Aslib, The Association for Information Management.
All rights reserved. Except as otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
Records Management Journal vol. 10 no. 1

of records managers and archivists to establish and maintain efficient and

effective record systems that will enable necessary records to be created to
safeguard both individual and corporate rights. They must start now to
help and encourage public organisations develop an appropriate manage-
ment framework supported by policies, procedures, standards and con-
trols to ensure that records are created and managed in a manner that
promotes accountability and good government.

References
1. Thurston, A. Accountability in public sector reform and financial
management. Paper (unpublished) presented at the Prem Seminar,
May, 1998, p. 1.

2. The World Bank, governance and development. Washington DC: The

World Bank, 1992, p. 1.

3. Healey, J and Robinson, M. Democracy, governance and economic

policy: Sub-Saharan Africa in comparative perspective. Overseas
Development Institute (ODI), Regent’s College, 1992, p. 160.

4. Blunt, P. Cultural relativism, good governance and sustainable

human development. Public Administration and Development, Vol. 15,
1995, p. 7.

5. Alan R. Individual’s responsibility for archival records. Informaa

Quarterly, Vol. 15, No. 1, February 1999, p. 5.

6. Dia, M. Africa’s management in the 1990s and beyond: reconciling

indigenous and transplanted institutions. The World Bank, 1996,
pp. 46 & 47.

7. Akotia, P. Managing public sector financial records in The Gambia:

implications for good government. Information Development, Vol. 11,
No. 4, Dec. 1995, pp. 206–210.

8. Atherton, J. From life-cycle to continuum: some thoughts on the

records management and archives relationship. Archivaria, Winter
1985–86.

9. Kennedy, J and Schauder, C. Records management: a guide to cor-

porate record keeping. 2nd ed. Longman, 1998, p. 10.

Author

Dr Justus Wamukoya is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Archives

and Records Management in the Faculty of Information Sciences at Moi

32
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Email: pubs@aslib.co.uk, WWW: http://www.aslib.co.uk/aslib
 Records Management Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1, April 2000
© Aslib, The Association for Information Management.
All rights reserved. Except as otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
April 2000 Records and archives as a basis for good government

University, Kenya. He holds an M.A, a PhD (Archival Studies) from University

College London and an MLitt. from the University of Edinburgh. He was recently
appointed a Member of the Public Archives Advisory Council, Kenya. He is also
currently a lead consultant for the International Records Management Trust on the
Tanzania Records Management Project, and a researcher on the World Bank/
Danish Trust Fund Information for Accountability Workshops Project. Previously,
Dr Wamukoya has served as an Educational Adviser on a project jointly sponsored
by the International Records Management Trust and the International Council on
Archives to develop training modules for a study programme. He has published
a number of articles in regional as well as international journals.

Dr Justus Wamukoya, Faculty of Information Sciences, Moi University, PO Box

3900, Eldoret, KENYA.
Tel: + (0321) 43720. Fax: + (0321) 43047.

33
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