Records Management and the Proposed Freedom Of Information Legislation at the Ministry of Information, Culture and Sports, Tanzania.

Abstract

The implementation of FOI Law depends upon effective records management because records management practices are deemed to underpin public offices ability to comply with the FOI Act. Therefore, records management issue should be addressed by a FOI Law and ideally improvements implemented prior to its introduction. The aim of this study was to investigate records management and the proposed Freedom of Information Legislation with a view to develop a RM framework to enable implementation of FOI legislation. The specific objectives of the study were: establish how management of records in their continuum will cope with FOI requests; investigate the infrastructural capacity for records management and how it fosters the implementation of the proposed FOI law; Investigate the implication of FOI law on RM practices; Determine the role of Tanzania Records and Archives Management Division in assisting the Ministry to comply with FOI requests; Find out challenges the Ministry face in meeting requirements of FOI law and propose records management framework to support the implementation of the proposed FOI law. The theoretical framework for this study was derived from the Records Continuum Model. A sample of 55 respondents was selected for the study using purposive and convenient random sampling techniques. The study sample included 9 top management staff, 13 action officers, 18 registry staff, and 15 RAMD staff. The study was qualitative in nature, and data were collected using interviews and supplemented by observation. The data were analyzed qualitatively, using descriptive and interpretive analysis methods where frequency distribution tables were used. The major findings of the study were: Records management could be a prime driver towards fostering the implementation of freedom of information law because of the fact that without proper records management, FOI law implementation could not be realized; The contributory factors to poor records management were lack of a policy for managing records, poorly trained RM personnel and senior officers‟ lethargy; The proposed Freedom of Information Legislation was prematurely tabled and poorly conceived because of non involvement of one key player that is Records and Management Division (RAMD); RAMD was not playing any meaningful role in advising the ministry on the management of electronic records. The study recommended that: RAMD should develop awareness programmes aimed at senior management in all Ministries, Departments and Agencies across the government to sensitize them on the importance of records; The top management in the MoICS should allocate enough budgets on RM activities; policy, standards, guidelines and procedures should be developed by RAMD and the top management in the MoICS so as to improve management of records in the ministry; the records management legislation should be reviewed to address the overall management of digital records. A proposed records management framework for managing records in both formats is provided.