It is widely agreed that principles of good governance such as accountability, transparency and the rule of law are ascertained with available records. Poor records management practice promotes bad economic practice such as corruption and fraud.
Despite the emergence of ICT, wherein records management tends to shift to an electronic version of storing data, records’ keeping is still vital and remains one of the surest and latest forms of keeping important public files for use.
What makes it even more convenient is its up-to-date nature, which is mostly free from any alteration.
It is in the news that forty Records Personnel from various Government institutions have recently concluded a four-week training on records management and its related discipline at the Management Development Institute (MDI).
The training could not have been held at a better time than now, when the use of electronic data storage has become the order of the day. The training is part of a broader scheme to ensure efficient and effective record keeping in government institutions.
It is imperative that governments and public institutions adopt good records keeping practice, since it will support effective, transparent and accountable government. Accessibility and reliability will show what decisions were made, actions taken and by who.
It is important to state here that the manual or the old type of record keeping, which is still in practice in some institutions, was and still is one of the efficient and reliable ways of record keeping.
We cannot but thank the National Records Service (NRS) under the Ministry of Public Service (MoPS) and the Management Development Institute for the collaborative efforts. This shows the importance and concern attached to efficient and effective public record management. This will not only promote accountability, but would greatly enhance good governance and democracy.