MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY

Name: Mudzamba Mufaro

Reg number: R137023y

Mode of entry Parallel

Degree Programme: HACHMS

Module title: Work Related Learning Report

Module code:

Placement Company: National Archives of Zimbabwe –Chinhoyi Records

Centre

Academic Supervisor: Miss Gurira

This report has been submitted to the Midlands State University in the partial fulfillment

of the requirements of the Bachelor of Arts in Archaeology ,Cultural heritage and Museum

studies.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgement……………………………………………………….1

Defination of terms………………………………………………………2

Acronyms……………………………………………………………… 3

Executive summary………………………………………………………4

CHAPTER 1…………………………………………………………… 5

Inntroduction………………………………………………………………5.1

Background of NAZ …………………………………………………… 5.2

Background of CRC………………………………………………………..5.3

Vision of the organization ………………………………………………….6

Mission statement……......................................................................................

Core values and competences…………………………………………………

Declared objectives………………………………………………………….6.2

………………………………………………………….7

CHAPTER 2…………………………………………………………………8

CRC organogram

CHAPTER 3…………………………………………………………………9

………………………………………………………………….10

CHAPTER 4

Cooperate culture of the company…………………………………………..11

Strengths……………………………………………………………………12

Weakness………………………………………………………………… 13

Opportunities………………………………………………………………..14

Threats…………………………………………………………………………14.1

…………………………………………………………………………15
CHAPTER 5

Community perceptions of the company……………………………………….16

CHAPTER 6

WRL activities………………………………………………………………… 17

………………………………………………………………… 18

……………………………………………………………………19

……………………………………………………………………20

……………………………………………………………………21

Relevancy of the degree programme……………………………………………21.1

……………………………………………22

………………………………………… 23

Professional development from the duties………………………………………24

Impact of internal and external factors of WRL……………………………… 25.1

…………………………………26

Chapter 7

General comments…………………………………………………………………27

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………28

References…………………………………………………………………………29

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank God Almighty for giving me strength and wisdom to come out with this
report. Sincere thanks goes to my institution of study, Midlands State University, for allowing
me an opportunity to acquire hands on experience whilst at college and apply the theories that I
learnt in class. Grateful acknowledgement also to the management and staff at Chinhoyi Records
Centre (CRC) for granting me an opportunity for Work Related Learning to fulfil the
requirements of the Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Archaeology, Cultural Heritage and
Museum Studies.

I also extend my gratitude to my supervisor Mr Sibanda for his guidance, encouragement,

support, patience and constructive comments in coming up with this report. I would also like to
thank the staff at Chinhoyi Records Centre for their support, constructive comments they gave to
me during my Work Related Learning. Lastly I would like to thank my mother, my sisters and
my brothers for financial support during my year of work related learning.

DEFINITION OF TERMS
Archival repository: A building or part of a building in which archives are preserved and

made available for consultation.

Electronic records: refers to the information that is generated electronically and stored

using computer technology.

Preservation: Means the totality of processes and operations involved in the

Stabilisation and protection of documents against damage or deterioration

and in the treatment of damaged or deteriorated.

Records: Are documents, books, papers, maps, sound recordings or other materials
irrespective of physical form or characteristics, made or received pursuant
to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction.

Records centre: A building or part of building designed or adapted for the low cost storage,
maintenance and communication of semi current records pending their
ultimate disposal.

Records management: Is the professional discipline that refers to the control of the creation,
maintenance and disposal of information in the form of a record.

Records Survey: Is an exercise whereby information on how records are created, kept,
disposed within a public office is gathered.

Acronyms
C.R.C………………………………. Chinhoyi Record Centre

SWOT…..........................................Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

WRL..................................................Work Related Learning

N.A.Z………………………………. National Archives of Zimbabwe

O.H………………………………….Oral history

ISBN..................................................International Standard Book number

NASSA….........................................National Social Security Authority

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The student was attached at Chinhoyi Records Centre from 13 July 2015 until the lapse of 10
months as per MSU institution’s requisite for honours degree students on attachment. This WRL
report is basically an analysis of the learning experience that was acquired during the third year
as part of the process of course of learning. It outlines the organisation’s vision, motto, and
structure, nature of business, its product and other correlated information to the organisation is
presented in this report. The report also takes note of the advantages of WRL towards the
student’s development and understanding of her professional career. Challenges faced as well as
suggested solutions, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the CRC were also
discussed in this report. This report also acted as evidence that the student was really doing
WRL. Suggestions and recommendations to NAZ and MSU were also given in this report.

CHAPTER 1
 INTRODUCTION

The establishment of the Chinhoyi Records Centre was a result of the decentralization of the
National Archives Head office functions to Provinces, so as to improve the operations of archival
institution. The Chinhoyi Records Centre (CRC) was established in 1999 in the town of
Chinhoyi. It is under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is located about 2,5km from the Central
Business District at the Chinese Complex. It is located at the fourth block of Chinese complex,
opposite Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital. The complex was a resident accommodation for the
Chinese Construction Company which was contracted by the Zimbabwean Government to
construct the Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital in Mashonaland West Province. Since Chinhoyi
Records Centre is not a purposely built, it is still in need of developments so as to meet the
required repository standards. This report is going to give an insight of my experience during the
time of my WRL. The report provides full details about the records management services
provision provided by Chinhoyi Records Centre.

Background information of National Archives of Zimbabwe

The National Archives of Zimbabwe was founded by the Act of parliament and operates on the
basis of the National Archives Act of 1986.It is the storehouse of the nation history. Its varied
collections are of interest to the members of public wishing to absorb something of the country ‘s
past history, students working on research projects and government officials seeking information
of an administrative nature .National Archives of Zimbabwe comprises of Research
section ,Records Centre ,Historical Manuscripts ,Library, Map collection ,Audio visual Unit,
Technical Services, Oral History.

Background information of Chinhoyi Record Centre

The Chinhoyi Records Centre is a department of National Archives of Zimbabwe which was in
the department under the ministry of Home Affairs .It was opened to store semi-current records
from all state department and parastatals in Mashonaland West province. N .A.Z was created by
the Act of Parliament in 1935 and it operates on the basis of the National Archives Acts of
1986.It is the storehouse of the country’s history ,students working on research projects and
government officials seeking information on administrative nature

The organisation has a mission statement, vision and objectives targeted to the various
departments of the institution, therefore discussed below is the mission statement, vision and
objectives of the entire organisation.

VISION OF THE ORGANISATION

To be a leading custodian and provider of the documentary heritage of Zimbabwe.
MISSION STATEMENT

To acquire, preserve and provide access to documentation in whatever format, which comprises
a legal and historical record of Zimbabwe’s past and present.

CORE VALUES AND COMPETENCES

 Integrity
 Professionalism
 Transparent
 Continuous improvement

DECLARED OBJECTIVES
The organisation‘s objectives function as a tool kit for the tracking of the organisational
performance and progress to its target. The Chinhoyi Records Centre therefore has concrete
measurable performance targets in order to achieve the province’s objectives.
1. Give clients access within one month (archives and manuscripts) and two months (library
material) to whose processing has been completed checked and approved.
2. Publish once a year, a comprehensive list of Zimbabwean publications produced and
deposited during the year (Zimbabwe National Bibliography and list of all state archives
and privately donated manuscripts, Director’s Annual Report).
3. Deliver a requested record within 3 working days of receiving the request and within 24
hours in the case of urgently required material.
4. Carry out records surveys at every registry at least once during every 4 years.
 5. Dispatch storage boxes within 24 hours of receiving a request.
6. Reply to letters within 12 working days from date of receipt.
7. Produce materials requested by researchers within 15 minutes of the Control Desk
Officer receiving the request slip.

Chapter 2
Chinhoyi Records Centre Organogram

Archivist

Records Management Assistant

Executive Assistant

Office Orderly

Attaché

This organogram was tailor made for effective and efficient management of the Chinhoyi
Records Centre which is a department of N.A.Z. In this way, the Chinhoyi Records remained
intact and the provider of Zimbabwe’s documentary heritage .It also promotes specialisation and
division of labour in the sense that the person will be performing what he or she is well versed
with.

CHAPTER 3
 ORGANISATIONAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Chinhoyi Records Centre keeps semi current records from government departments and
parastatals for Mashonaland West Province. Semi- current records are those records which are
not being used daily. The centre stores these records so as to create space in government
departments and parastatals. Some departments does not have Registry Supervisors who have
knowledge of handling records hence CRC is responsible for giving high density shelving of
records in Mashonaland West Province. The centre stores semi-current records till a given period
of time depending on the value of the records and then transfers them to Head Office in Harare.
Government and parastatals within Mashonaland West Province will then request those semi-
current records when they need them and CRC staff is responsible for retrieval of the records.

Most departments in Mashonaland West does not have preservation conditions suitable for the
storage of semi-current records hence the CRC is responsible for that, since there is security and
the staff at the centre are well educated in records management.
The National Archives in its endeavour to capture the documentary heritage of Zimbabwe carries
out Oral History. The unit was originally established in 1968. It seeks to fill in the gaps that
existed in the archival material by collecting the under documented and undocumented material.
It was originally established for the collection of British colonial occupation and the
remembrance of those who served the then Rhodesia. The oral history programme is set out to
preserve and document the culture and traditional rites and practices that celebrate the African
renaissance in an independent Zimbabwe.

Hence Chinhoyi Records Centre is responsible for conducting oral history interviews to fill in
gaps that are found in written records. During the attachment the student visited the Chinhoyi
Caves and conducted an oral history interview about the history of Chinhoyi Caves, the
interview was then transcribed so as to be accessed by researchers. In books some information
might not be well illustrated hence through oral history interviews gaps will be filled and that
information is of great importance.

In addition CRC is responsible for conducting records management surveys in government

departments, parastatals and local authorities in Mashonaland West Province. Records
Management Surveys are done in terms of section 6 and 7 of the National Archives Act of 1986.
Surveys are conducted to know the functions of the organisation, awareness by departments of
NAZ’s operations, services and functions, classification system, security control measures for
records and type of records created.

More so some departments might not be aware of the functions of records centres, hence through
records management surveys those departments will be informed about what the records centre
offer. For instance procedures to follow when transferring records to use standard boxes( code
54) which are acid free boxes since they will not have a knowhow about the procedures to follow
when transferring semi-current records to the records centre.

Chinhoyi Records Centre is a research centre for researchers from Chinhoyi University of
Technology, Zimbabwe Open University and also from other schools within Mashonaland West
Province. Information gathered through Oral interviews are helpful to researchers hence the
centre serves as a research centre. More so information about heroes is also found at CRC the
period in which those heroes existed. However the centre doesn’t have a reading room for
researchers but it serves as a research centre since it has got some information which is helpful to
researchers.

CHAPTER 4
CORPORATE CULTURE OF THE COMPANY

According to Schein,( 1999) Corporate culture is a system of shared beliefs, values and norms
that develop within an organisation and guides the behaviour of its members. Organisational
culture is a set of values that the organisation members have with regard to the functioning and
existence of the organisation. Culture is the customary and traditional way of thinking and doing
things which is used by almost all members of a particular organisation. Every member need to
learn and try to accept in order to be accepted into the services of the institution. These include
basic values, ideologies and assumptions that moulds or shape or guides and fashion the
individual behaviour. Corporate culture guides almost all the operations of a certain organisation
for instance on the issue of agency in terms of service delivery. It is important for the
organisation to clearly know what it envisages as part of its culture.

Schein (1999) postulates that cultural characteristics can also be observed in the physical layout
of work environments, dress codes, and levels of technology, the attitudes and behaviours of the
people. Once culture is established and accepted, it can become a strong leadership tool to
communicate the leader’s beliefs and values to organisational members, and especially new
comers. Therefore the employees in the Chinhoyi Records Centre (CRC) do not entirely have a
dress code that is different from the rest of the other government workers but they are required to
put on formal wear. Since the institution has an archival repository room to house government
and parastatals records, the employees sometimes wear dust coats and masks for safety. This has
rendered a crucial response towards the appreciation of the significance of records and health of
the workers as the institution strives to archive its goals.

STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS

In this chapter Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis of the
National Archives of Zimbabwe are going to be discussed. SWOT analysis involves the
systematic assessment of an organisation’s internal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats (IRMT 1999). (Goodrich 2015: 1) argues that the purpose of a swot analysis in a business
context is to enable the organisation to identify both internal and external influence. For CRC to
give a greater focus on its strengths it needs to minimise its weaknesses and act as much possible
towards its threats hence maximising all the possible opportunities as possible. This will help
CRC to have a smooth flow of its operations with no much hassle.

Strengths

Strengths are characteristics of the business or projects that give it an advantage over others,
strengths also determine the organization’s strong points this according to European Commission
(2014). These are tangible and intangible attributes (internal to an organization). This should be
from both: an internal perspective and external customers. It is a distinctive competence when it
gives the firm a comparative advantage in the marketplace. The CRC has the strength in that it
has qualified personnel who are managing the Records Centre. Both the Archivist and the
Records Management Assistant have professional qualifications in Records and Archives
management. The CRC has an advantage in that it has staff members who are aware of what to
do. Strength of the CRC is that it has adequate staff to carry out its functions.

The CRC also has adequate space and shelving material for storing semi-current records. Other
records centres in Zimbabwe are facing the problems of either shelving materials or storage
space. High-density shelving at the CRC ensures that space is efficiently utilised. The CRC can
hold most of the semi current records from the public sector departments in Mashonaland West
province.

The CRC takes attaches from Midlands State University, National University of Science and
Technology and other universities hence it has got strength since it can be assisted by these
attaches to carry out Records Surveys, capture oral history, accession, and process records and to
transfer records to the archives.

Weaknesses
McDonald and Wilson (2011) postulates that weaknesses are those things that detract from the
value of your offering or place you at a disadvantage when compared with your competitors.

The CRC does not have a vehicle to use when carrying out its duties. Due to the lack of
transport the number of records surveys and oral history interviews carried are limited because
these activities involve a lot of travelling. Lack of transport is forcing the CRC to concentrate
most of its activities in Chinhoyi town where officers can walk on foot. Areas such as Karoi,
Kadoma, Chegutu, and Murombedzi are not visited because of lack of transport.

The CRC does not have a purpose built building to house records. The building is an adopted
building that was once used as a bedroom by the Chinese builders who were building the nearby
Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital. In this case, the storage building does not have adequate
conditions needed for the preservation of records. The centre cannot keep electronic records, as
there is no storage place suitable for them. There are no fire alarms, smoke detectors,
temperature control systems (humidifiers and dehumidifiers) and dust suckers. Fire extinguishers
are also not being regularly serviced. Most of the challenges the centre is facing are due to lack
of funding (Murambiwa etal 2012).

In addition CRC is having problems when in need to print important documents the printer at
CRC doesn’t have toner and bond paper hence this is a weakness since most of typed documents
such as reconciliation of stamps, reports and other important documents need to be printed so as
for them to be send to headquarters and other departments.

Shortage of equipment for Oral history is also another weakness that CRC is facing. Due to
financial constrains there is shortage of equipment to conduct oral history interviews which
resulting in conduction limited number of interviews.Attachés tend to use their cell phones when
recording oral history interviews, hence the centre is need of new recording tapes, batteries and
digital cameras so that oral interviews will be effective.
They is no data migration at Chinhoyi Records Centre. Data needed to be migrated from the one
source to another competing with technology .However at C.R.C records which is a national
pride is still in old and out-dated sources and there is no data migration that had taken place since
its establishment.
 Opportunities
An opportunity is a major situation in an organization’s environment and represents the reason
for a firm to exist and develop European Commission (2014). Useful opportunities can come
from changes in competitive, regulatory circumstances or changes in government policy related
to field technological changes. CRC has got a number of opportunities so as to improve its
operations.
The CRC can also apply for funding from the government or donors to build a purpose built
records centre. A purpose built building will have all the facilities necessary for any archival
building. The centre can also sell books and other reading materials concerning the history of
Zimbabwe to raise revenue for its operations. If this is done, there would be an opportunity for
growth of the CRC to become a fully-fledged archive.

The CRC can also hold training workshops where participants attending can be trained in records
management. Participants can be made to pay for the workshop and therefore fundraise for the
organisation. Workshops are also a useful tool of marketing an organisation.

Another opportunity for the NAZ is that it is an organisation with a good reputation. The NAZ
can use this reputation to engage other sister archival institutions in other countries for twining
programmes. These programmes might assist in the training of archival staff such that they will
be well versed with modern trends on records management.

Threats

Threats are external factors on which the organization does not have control Johnson,
Whittington and Scholes (2009). These threats can be technological obsolescence, lack of skills,
lack of appropriate infrastructure or the presence of strong competitors. Threats come from the
fact that the government, which is the biggest funder of archival operations, is facing financial
constraints. This means that most of the plans to build a purpose built records centre that are in
place will not be fulfilled. The CRC has a stand that is still yet to be developed. The stand has
not been developed since 2007. As long as there is no partners to assist in building the institution
it might take many years for the purpose built building to be constructed.
The CRC is facing a threat of technological obscelesence. Most of the government, local
authorities public sector departments are now keeping electronic records but the records centre
does not have a proper storage space for electronic records. This means that most of the
electronic records produced in Mashonaland West province cannot reach the Archives. There is
need to improve a proper storage for electronic records so that the records centre’s role of acting
as a link between the registry and the archive is maintained. Staff members should also be send
for refresher courses so that they are always up to date on electronic records management issues.

Another threat is that in the next five years if there is still a backlog at the main archives,
problems of shortage of space will surface at the CRC. Records that are due for transfer are no
longer accepted at the main archives because of space challenges. This means that the CRC will
keep on holding records that are due for transfer until such a time that the backlog at the archives
is cleared. With the rate the records are being deposited it would not take five years before all the
space at the centre is gobbled up. There is need to clear the backlog at the main archives. Some
records can also be microfilmed as this reduces the volume of space taken by the record.

More so other threat being faced by CRC is that of internet, there is no internet at the centre
hence there is need for internet connections for easy communication with other departments.
Postage which is being done through SWIFT can be done using email so CRC has been
overtaken by technology and this is a threat.

CHAPTER 5
COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS OF THE COMPANY

Mashonaland West Province communities do not have an informed opinion of the Records
Centre. Petersen (2000) defined the term public perception as simply the type of information
obtained from a public opinion survey. At Chinhoyi Records Centre there is need of remedies for
improving society’s perceptions of the organisation. There is a significant gap between society’s
understanding of the operations of the NAZ and the reality of its functions. Public opinion is
merely the aggregate views of a group of people who are asked directly what they think about
particular issues or events.
The CRC has faced little or no opinion from the community on the value of its operations. The
community does not have enough knowledge about the records centre and some people are not
even aware of its purpose to the community. This has resulted with the community forming little
perceptions on the management of semi-current records. For instance in Mashonaland West
Province there are a number of government departments and parastatals but only a few
departments are depositing their records to the CRC, most departments are managing their
records on their own, this shows that the community is not aware of the functions of CRC.

In Mashonaland West Province the community have the opinion that there is a reading room for
researchers at the Records Centre. The researchers from the nearby Universities Zimbabwe Open
University and Chinhoyi University of Technology came with expectation of having that service.
Therefore if the centre had a reading room and reading materials there is an opportunity of
improving community perception to organisation. Lacking a reading room and reading materials
is making the Chinhoyi Records Centre face the wrong perception from the community.
In addition the community also have the perception that the CRC operates under the National
Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe. In the mind sets of the public they perceive that if they
visit the centre they can see objects from the past carrying history of the way of life of the past
societies. However the records centre falls under the National Archives of Zimbabwe. From this
perception it can clearly depicts that the public have little knowledge about the operations of the
institute
CHAPTER 6
This chapter will cover work related activities that the student had been undertaking, professional
duties and achievements as well as challenges to both student and organisation.

Work Related Activities

The main business at C.R.C is the keeping of semi current records from government, parastatals
and local authorities.

 Receiving and accessioning a deposit

The attaché was assigned a number of duties. Among the duties, one of them was receiving semi
current records from creating departments. When receiving records/deposit the attaché has to
check whether standard boxes were used (Code 54 boxes) that are acid free should be used for
preservation purposes. The deposit is also checked whether it is not affected by pests and if
affected the deposit will not be accepted, as it will affect other records. The attaché checked the
contents in the box thoroughly comparing with what is on the transmittal list and then signed one
detailed list that is returned to the department to show that the deposit has been received. The
deposit is then recorded in the accessions register whilst the deposit is placed on a temporary
location. The picture below shows the attaché entering information in the accessions register.

 Processing

Processing involves giving records a permanent location in the repository. The boxes are
arranged according to their box numbers starting with the first. Storage box labels are filled in
triplicate with descriptions already given on the transmittal list. The location and the box number
will also be given to the records. The box number is derived from the numbering machine. After
filling in the details on the storage box label, it is then pasted on the box. The lifespan of a
deposit is determined by the standing instruction and the contents. Other records that are deemed
to be of no importance are destroyed and records of long term value are transferred to the
National Archives for research purposes. Transferring and destroying records from the Records
Centre also creates space.

 Shelving
Shelving is placing boxes on the shelves. One has to understand the location codes used by the
National archives for example 6-11-1R whereby 6= Bay, 11= Row, 1= Shelve and R=Rear. If
instead of 1R there is 1F it means F stands for Front meaning the box should be placed at the
front. One has to be careful when shelving as this would result in records getting lost and thereby
resulting in difficulties when retrieving. After shelving one transmittal list is filed in the
department’s file and another list is posted to the depositing department. Below is a picture of the
attaché shelving processed boxes

Upon request, the attaché writes on the request slip, the description of the file needed, box
number and location, name of department and person who has requested a file. The attaché
records every request in the records register to show the number of files requested and year the
file has been requested as follows.

Table 1

Records register

Date Request number Issues Department

13/07/15 251/15 3 NSSA

From the request slip the attaché writes the information on the out -card that is placed where the
file had been retrieved and pulled out when the file is returned. Once a file is retrieved, the
attaché will put a sticker on the file with location, box number and request number. The request
slip is placed in the request slip box however if the file is not found the request slip is destroyed.
The person requesting the file will sign for the record in the Issuing Register and take the record.
No record is issued to any person who is not a member of staff of the creating department.
Positive identification is required for one to request a

Reconciliation of Stamps

Reconciliation of stamps is done every month end to show the number of stamps used, received
from head office, balance brought forward and balance end of month. One copy is posted to head
office and the other is filed in the reconciliation of stamps file.

 Compilation of statistics
Weekly statistics are compiled every Friday morning before business. The attaché records the
number of visitors, number of files requested, issued, number of surveys conducted, boxes issued
and files returned. This information is send to Head Office every Friday.

 Filing

All paper work within the organisation were filed in their respective files for example, quarterly
reports file, survey reports file, correspondences with Head Office file to mention just a few.
Every communication done with head office is filed as evidence in case of misunderstanding.

 Oral Interviews

The National Archives in its endeavour to capture the documentary heritage of Zimbabwe carries
out Oral History. Oral history interviews are done to fill the gaps left by written records. The
attaché was taught skills on how carry out oral history interviews, accession, document,
transcribe, preservation and the conservation of oral history tapes (audio and visual archives).

During the attachment the student visited the Chinhoyi Caves and conducted an Oral History
interview with Mr Chinhoyi concerning the history of Chinhoyi Caves, its existence before
present the tribes who lived there long back and its formation, Mr Chinhoyi gave the attaché
enough information concerning history of Chinhoyi Caves. After conducting oral history
interview the attaché transcribed the information so that it will be easily available to researchers.

 Project

During work related learning students are given an opportunity to put theory into practice and to
show their ability of creativity. Therefore as the student was on Work Related Learning she
observed that the security of records at CRC is not that enough hence the records are exposed to
many risks and threats. Hence the student realised that it is necessary to create a security and risk
plan for Chinhoyi Records Centre.

KEY RESULT AREAS

 600

500

400

300

200

100

0
records accessioned records processed records shelved file retrieved oral history interview

RELEVANCY OF THE DEGREE PROGRAMME

The Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Archaeology, Cultural Heritage and Museums Studies
Honours degree is relevant to the National Archives of Zimbabwe which has a mission statement
that acquire, preserve and provide access to documentation in whatever format, which comprises
a legal and historical record of Zimbabwe’s past and present.

The student have to give credit to his institution of study which is M S U for the theory the
student learnt which the attaché was able to acknowledge its relevance after being given the
platform to apply. These modules include Conservation and Preservation of Archives,
Communication Skills, Archival Administration, Records Management, Collection Management,
Museum Communication, Introduction to Information Technology, Conservation of Records,
and Electronic data record management. Services offered by the Chinhoyi Records Centre made
it possible for one to apply knowledge gained from the university and relate theory and practical
since it deals with vast records management. Under this chapter the student will share the
activities she carried out during WRL period and will explain how the modules helped her to
deliver quality services to the clients, organisation and the public as a whole. The application,
assessment and challenges encountered will also be described under this chapter. Activities
carried on include accessioning, processing of records, filing, preservation and conservation of
records, house-keeping, dispatching and retrieval of records, data capturing and compiling
weekly.

The attaché was involved in accessioning of records from different departments in Mashonaland
west Province, processing, giving permanent location and shelving the records. Accessioning is
being done whenever a department brought in a deposit of records at CRC and the student was
responsible for looking what the boxes contain if it is possible to store them, also checking if the
depositing department used Code 54 acid free storage boxes. In this regard, the student also
exploited the module under museum studies which is Collection Management and other several
Records Management modules such as Archival Administration.

The attaché was able to learn and apply the Conservation and Preservation module which is very
crucial when it comes to records management. The student managed to put into practice proper
housekeeping which is part of the preventive conservation, dusting boxes in the repository since
dust may affect records. Through the module you are able to know some principles of
safeguarding records from agents of deterioration such as avoiding records from getting in
contact with water and filing them to avoid deterioration. However some of the principles are not
easy to achieve due to lack of resources.

Filing is very essential at CRC and the student was assigned to file survey reports, reconciliation
of stamps, transmittal lists and quarterly reports. The theory under several modules for instances
Introduction to Records Management, Archival Administration, Preservation and Conservation
of Archives helped a lot. Proper filing is essential since it creates some form of order as well as
office space. It makes it possible to use search aids hence easy access of information.

Archival administration must also be put into consideration since the module concepts were
applied by the student. There are several concepts covered by this module and these include the
aspect on the principles of records and archives management, the principle of respect des fonds,
the principle of life cycle and the continuum principle. They give a guideline on what a records
manager is expected to do. Appraisal of records is also of importance which is under the same
module which makes it possible to determine the value of records. In this process the attaché was
examining values and this enabled the student to deal with records in a specified manner.
Records appraisal also determines what purpose and length of time for which the value will
continue.

Communication skills were of more importance during WRL. Business communication for
instance memos and reports are of importance and thus the way of communicating. Reports are
one of the major methods used to convey messages within the organisation. It is crucial for
whoever picks a call to have words like “Chinhoyi Records Centre” at the beginning of all
conservations with a client.

Introduction to information technology has become so important due to various developments

being adapted by almost all organisations. Knowing basic operations of a computer is now a
must for instance Microsoft excel, Microsoft Power Point, Microsoft Access and Microsoft Word
since that is the current expectations being adopted. Typing, printing making photocopies as well
requires one to be familiar with basic operations of a computer.

Museum communication was of great importance also since concepts do apply. The attaché was
able to use the different ways of conveying messages. These include putting notices on notice
boards. During the Work Related Learning the student placed contact list of departments to
contact in the event of a disaster and a notice for strictly no smoking in the CRC building on the
notice board making phone calls, photocopying, printing material, and sending letters.

All the modules are of relevance that is why they are in existence and this is also supported by
the evidence that they do apply under industrial attachment. They helped the attaché to know
several processes which are essential under records management which include receiving and
dispatching information, proper filing of documents, preservation and conservation, verification
of documents, proper housekeeping practices, data capturing, to mention but a few. All these
aspects do work on the Work Related Learning period the modules learnt at school apply to the
work that was done on WRL.

Professional development from the duties and achievement

Attachment at CRC helped a lot towards development of the student’s carrier so as to be a proper
Records Manager with important skills essential to deliver proper service and outcomes.
Teamwork

Team work is the only way to go for proper service delivery to be possible. After joining the
CRC the student have managed to appreciate team work, for example proper housekeeping
practices to be possible there is need to assist each other so as to maintain the exact environment.
Team works shorten long processes thus ensuring efficiency.

Innovativeness

The student also learnt to be innovative during the attachment period. Working in the department
of N.A.Z is quite challenging for a student as it involves working with limited and sometimes
non-existence of resources. This hereby gave the student to the platform to device ways to deal
with the situation at hand using critical and analytic skills of records management.

Self confidence

The other reason behind work related learning is to build self confidence in students. At N.A. Z
student is exposed to many different activities which requires self-confidence. The student is left
alone to conduct oral history interviews whereby she will be interviewing people of different
class, age and race, for this to be archived successfully they is need to have confidence.

Communication and analytic skills

During the work related learning the student at N.A.Z –Chinhoyi Records Centre was able to
acquire communication and analytic skills through the conduction of Oral History interviews and
other activities .Good communication skills are also required in order for a student to get
accurate information on whatever business, he or she should be calculative and use appropriate
language and non-verbal cues where possible. This proves to be easy since the student was
putting Basic and Extended Communication skill into practise.

Time management

The student throughout the attachment period acquired time management skills. At C.R.C, there
are many activities in which the student is involved in and sometimes many departments can
deposit many boxes at once and it is the duty of the student to process, shelve and post the
transmittal list to their respective departments in a specified time.

Strength of character

Industrial attachment helped the attaché to develop strength of character in doing duties, for
example, ability to resist unnecessary pressure and unconstructive advices. There is need to be
firm in your personal decisions so as to avoid going wrong due to bad influence.

IMPACT OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FACTORS ON WORK EXPERIENCE

The modules for records management that the department of Archaeology, Cultural Heritage and
Museum studies provides to students, they are in line with the international standards of
managing records. Therefore it may be noted that the department wishes its students to practice
these standards in the real world working experience. However it is vital to acknowledge that the
objectives of the academic department were not completely successful due to internal and
external factors. The success of my practicum experience was influenced by a number of factors
which can be noted as availability of resources, lack of knowledge, resistance to change,
organisational policy, the state of records and shortage of finance.

The resources were very limited which hindered the proper management of records as
recommended by the academic department and International Council of Archivists. Chinhoyi
Records Centre does not have a purposely built structure to house its records. The building does
not provide recommended standards of the archival building to store records of the public due to
lack of finance. The building was formerly used by Chinese people who were building the
nearby Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital for accommodation purposes.

Furthermore, there are no cold rooms, no overhead sprinklers, no humidity and temperature
control equipment and no dust suckers and air conditioners. Fire extinguishers are not regularly
serviced. Lack of these equipments affects preservation of records. The roof of the building is
also leaking and the walls have got cracks that can harbour pests and also lets moisture into the
building. This can also result in rapid changes in temperatures that can increase the rate of
deterioration of records and other archival materials. Temperature is the level of heat or cold in a
substance body or environment (IRMT: 1999:15). Bajpai (1999:190) pointed out that the rate of
increase in the deterioration of paper is even faster, doubling, for every increase of
approximately 4 degrees Celsius.

More so, Chinhoyi Records Centre is surrounded by trees and these trees may fall on the
building resulting into a disaster , the location of (CRC) is near farm lands were there are tall
grasses in case of veld fires the building may be affected and located near cold-stream river in
the event of floods it might be affected , so during the attachment period the student discovered
that, Chinhoyi Records Centre does not have a disaster management plan whilst it is prone to a
number of disasters, hence the student put the disaster management plan in place so that the
institution will be protected from all sorts of disasters and aware of procedures to take in the
event of a disaster.

Lack of these proper facilities at the CRC resulted in the student not acquiring enough
experience on working with proper facilities in the Records Centre. However despite these
external factors the student gained a lot of experience by working with the available resources at
the CRC. The student learned to use available resources for maximum production.

Chapter 7

General comments
The placement at N.A.Z-Chinhoyi Records Centre helped the student to reduce theory into
practice and other relevant modules made the work related learning a bit easier. However both
the organisation and the University should improve in certain areas so that in future it will make
the work related learning enjoyable for the student.

Recommendations to the organisation

 There is need for the organisation to have more offices and more desktop for better
service delivery and privacy to officers.
 Students should be allowed to attend organisational meeting and workshops so as to
enhance research and analytic skills
 Human resources and disaster management should be trained to all officers.
 Transport allowance should be accorded to the student or students should be allowed to
enjoy the benefits of the Civil Service Commission so as to make life easier for them.
 N.A.Z should also allow student to attend departmental meetings since it is per work
related learning policy for students to have a hand of experience which is acquire
through meeting and exchange platforms so that the student will familiarise with all
centres
 In addition at CRC there is need of improved security the door of the repository doesn’t
have a lock and also other doors of the offices there is need for replacement of locks and
keys.

Recommendations to MSU

 The is need to increase number of visits by the supervisors so that the student will still
have that direct help since she will be still in a confusion of trying to apply some
concepts which may seem to be not working in the industrial part whilst during theory
there were regarded as of more relevance.
 The University should build and maintain good relations with organisations so that it will
became easy for students to acquire placements in organisations.
 There is need to try and start trying the industrial part of archiving whilst still in school
for instance having an archive which we monitor directly.
CONCLUSION
The attaché would want to thank the educational institution (MSU) for making WRL part of the
requirements of the program as well as the organisation of placement National Archives of
Zimbabwe (CRC) for granting the opportunity for the student to learn and acquire necessary
experience. The attaché learned many things on records management during the time she was on
work related leaning. The attaché learned to receive and accession a deposit, process records,
allocate space to the deposit, retrieve a file, and to conduct oral history interviews. The attaché
had covered most of these aspects in theory but the attachment period gave her an opportunity
for hands on experience. It was nice working with the staff of CRC since they helped a lot and
supported the attaché whenever she needs their help. There are a lot of changes which the student
will show after the WRL and these include maturity, business communication, seriousness and
professionalism to mention but a few.

This report has been read by the WRL supervisor and approved all information to be true.
WRL SUPERVISOR’S SIGNATURE................................ DATE.................................

STUDENT’S SIGNATURE............................................... DATE.................................

Organisation’s stamp

REFERENCES
Cook, M. 1999.Managing records in records centers, London, International Records
Management Trust

Kamba, A. 1989 Archives and National Development in the Third World.McDonald, M, Wilson,
H. 2011, Marketing Plans: How to prepare them, How to use them, 7th edition, John Wiley.

Masuku, M & Ngulube, P. 2013. Infrastructural challenges on archives and record keeping at the
National Archives of Zimbabwe, Journal of the South African society of Archivists (46): 46-61.

International Records Management Trust 1999.Preserving Records. London: IRMT.

Petersen R. A. 2000. Constructing effective questionnaires. London, Sage

Murambiwa, I, Sigauke, DT. & Masuku, M, Ngulube, P 2012. Archival development in

Zimbabwe 1935-2010: Setting the scene, in National Archives 75@ 30:75 years of archiving
excellence at the National Archives of Zimbabwe, edited by P Ngulube.