The Costs of the Failure of African Nations to Manage Records Effectively

a paper by Peter C Mazikana

There are many examples in Africa and other parts of the world of the adverse consequences arising out of an inability to manage the generation, processing, storage and use of records and information. Zanzibar in the 1950's and 1960's undertook research into cloves diseases and the rehabilitation of the ports without realising that this had been done previously and that the records were in the national archives. In Malaysia, failure to use geological monographs and other records in the national archives resulted in major repairs and problems on the Kuala Lumpur - Seremban Highway which was constructed in the 1970's without taking adequate account of the geological unsuitability of the terrain. In Poland, the disastrous effects of the severe inundation of the Ode River in 1984 could have been minimised if use had been made of old documentation of anti-flood installations which was in the National Archives. There have also been cases of territorial disputes that could have been avoided if records and archives had been used. In the Far East the territorial dispute between Thailand and Laos could have been avoided. The most severe impact has also been felt when there is a catastrophe that destroys the records and archives as was the case in Ireland where some twenty five years ago records of title relating to state property were destroyed and had to be painstakingly and at great cost recreated.

The costs of failure by African nations to manage records effectively can be divided into two broad categories. In the first instance, there are costs associated with the processing, storage and utilisation of the records and information resources and which lead to organisational inefficiencies and ineffectiveness. Secondly, there are adverse consequences which emanate from a reduced capacity and capability to deal with the requirements and needs of a rapidly changing political and socio-economic environment arising out of the transformation and liberalisation of the political and economic systems in Africa.

Records are created in the transactional processes of Government, as laws and regulations are developed and promulgated, as births, marriages and deaths are registered, as taxes are levied and money expended and as Government deals on a day to day basis with its citizens. While the manner in which the records are created, processed, stored and used differs from country to country and from one geographic region to the next, Commonwealth countries in Africa share a common administrative and records management/archival heritage based on the former Secretariat Administrations and the registry system. To this extent, the structures of Government ministries and departments are fairly similar as are the registry systems which receive, process, store and make information available to the administrators. The problems being faced by African Governments are therefore also similar and it is possible to make very broad generalisations.

Africa in the last few decades has been afflicted and ravaged by numerous natural and man made disasters. While there is evidence that other continents such as South America and Asia is are at last almost ready to face the challenges of the twenty first century, by and large Africa is threatened by retrogression and increasing under - development. This deepening crisis is not only seen in the declining economies and standards of living but also manifests itself in the state of Government registries and national archival services.

A survey conducted by UNESCO and the International Council on Archives in 1992 showed that there is a crisis of major proportions in the state of records management and archival services in Africa. Registry systems are in an extremely dilapidated state and in certain cases have collapsed altogether. File classification systems, where they exist, are antiquated. Basic registry equipment and supplies are not readily available and registry staff have little or no training. Records and information required for the day to day functioning of ministries and departments cannot be located. In many countries there are no records centre facilities and many records which should have been transferred are still in the ministries and departments creating serious storage problems. In some countries where records centres exist, these filled up many years ago and are unable to receive any new accessions. Appraisal of records in many cases has not been done for a long time and there are often no retention/disposal schedules. In some ministries and departments records occupy every conceivable space in offices and storerooms and there is so much disorder it is virtually impossible to retrieve any records.

Archives are in no better shape with antiquated and cumbersome regulations that hinder and delay public access to the archives. Processing backlogs are the order of the day and there are many cases where the only published guides to the collections are those produced during the colonial era. The physical well being of the archives themselves is at risk. In some repositories air conditioning equipment broke down ages ago. Where there is need for restoration or reproduction, the equipment, often sourced from donors, is broken down and supplies of material are not available.

In this situation of crisis it is pertinent to ask if records can be of use to African governments and administrations? Can the records be used for the benefit of the nations and should records management activities be accorded priority. What are the costs and implications of paying little priority to the management of records?

Records management is not a luxury for African Governments. The survival and progression of the continent in the twenty first century crucially depends on the priority accorded and resources allocated to records and information management. The costs of not managing records effectively are evident from the point at which the records are created, processed, stored and used.

The purpose of records management is to control the size and complexity of the records of modern government. The technological revolution of the 20th century has not only increased the amount of information available but has also multiplied the variety of ways in which it is recorded. The invention of the printing press, the advent of the typewriter, the introduction of the photocopier and the advent of micrographics and of the computer have all combined to increase enormously the amount of records generated by government. The technological advances have also gone side by side with a tremendous increase in the social, economic and administrative functions of government. The result therefore is that if the records created by government are not controlled, they will increase in size and complexity and become unmanageable, irretrievable and virtually unusable.

The objective in managing public records is to make these records serve the purpose for which they were created as cheaply and effectively as possible and, once they have served this purpose, to dispose of them properly. To achieve this, it is necessary to pay attention to the handling of the records from the time that they are created until the time that they are disposed of or transferred to a Records Centre. The birth of a record has been likened to the birth of a person, hence what has become known as the life-cycle concept. At birth, it is essential to ensure that there are no accidents which can cause permanent damage. As the record gets older it needs correct and tender handling, as well as shelter. Retirement should be carefully planned for - in much as provision for pensions and other benefits is made for human beings. Lastly, of course, death, when it finally comes for some records, should be painless and quick, while for those records that become public archives, preserved permanently for historical consultation, it is postponed indefinitely.

The manner in which government records are being managed in most countries in Africa is defective and has resulted in unnecessary expenditure through poor utilisation of government office accommodation and equipment, destruction or loss of important records, duplication of effort and a general crippling of governments' reconstruction and developmental programmes because of an ineffective information service. The following major problems have been identified,

• Many departments are still using antiquated filing systems developed in the early years of this century and now grossly inadequate to today's demands. There is unsystematic opening of files, misfiling, and inaccurate titling that often causes problems of retrieval and leads to inaccurate appraisal. It has been observed that in almost all ministries and departments, the file circulation systems are ineffective and a great deal of time is wasted while files are being located. The result is a very poor flow of information to decision makers,

• The highly valuable records management tool of identifying and segregating records of ephemeral value from those that are of more lasting value and disposing of the former at the earliest possible moment is being utilised by only the few. Registries, storage and storerooms are full to overflowing with material that should have been discarded years ago while at the same time there is a near universal cry for more space to store records and more equipment to cater for records being created. Such ephemera as government gazettes and notices, circulars received, issue vouchers and requisition books are being kept long after they have ceased to be useful. Of those departments that utilise the services of National Archives it is often this ephemera which is considered for transfer when registries are running out of space. There is a general misconception about the functions of the National Archives. It is seen as no more than the dumping ground for bulky ephemera which no one has any use for but which nevertheless no one is prepared to take responsibility for destruction. Those records perceived to be valuable are often kept back - for it is argued that this is the valuable record to which there is need to refer time again. However, shortages of space and staff mean that these records are being kept in an unserviceable condition heaped on floors and tables, unreferenced and therefore virtually irretrievable, and in some instances exposed to the dangers of destruction. Probing questions in any case almost always reveal that the rate of reference is negligible and insufficient to justify retention in the department as against transfer to the Records Centre. Valuable government records have been lost either through deliberate destruction by senior administrators leaving officer or by a negligence that does not recognise them for what they are. This has cost governments dearly.

• The cut-off of files at some predetermined points, which is a key element in any effective records management programme, is largely missing. By and large files are only closed when they are too bulky and so, files whose subjects are relatively inactive remain open for an inordinately long time. Files opened in the 1930s and 40s are still in current use, and registers dating back to the 1890s are still being used in some offices. The implications of this in terms of costs to government as well as the date of access to archives by public are wide ranging.

• Transfers of records to National Archives are irregular and some departments have not made deposits for a number of years. Of those utilising the services of the Records Centre, where such a facility exists, there is an unclear understanding of its requirements, of the way these records are stored and of the mechanisms for retrieving the files. Some departments have lost their copies of transmittal lists and are thus unable to retrieve their files. Boxes issued by the Records Centre are sometimes diverted to other purposes, or as in some cases used to house records which are not meant to be transferred to the National Archives at all. The control of registries over the documentation produced by their departments is not extensive or all embracing. All too often senior administers keep what can only be termed "secret registries".

• There have been many ministerial changes, with new ministries and departments being created while others have ceased to exist or been merged with others. The fate of records caught in these changes has not been ascertained.

• There has been a rapid turnover of registry staff in many countries. This has increased the need to educate the new staff in all aspects of record keeping and make them not only proficient in the management of current records but also to improve their performance by giving them a greater understanding of the life-cycle of record and thus enable them to put their own work into context. However training facilities for registry staff are available in only a few countries.

• The registry systems and the processing of information have become cumbersome and unwieldy and it takes a long time before information reaches those who must have it. Officials sometimes find themselves attending meetings or responding to inquiries with only partial information available or come back from meetings only to find that the information they had needed for the meeting is now on their desk, and to all intents and purposes useless for what it was required for. This impacts on the efficiency and effectiveness of Government.

• The filing systems have also become so difficult that officials spend time chasing information that cannot be located. The file structure might have become inadequate with illogical file divisions and inaccurate file titles. Everyone will remember that the information did come in or was generated but no one knows where it was subsequently filed.

• Files required by more than one official at the same time can pose problems. If the distribution and circulation controls are weak it becomes difficult to identify who in the first place has the file and secondly to give several officials access to the same file at the same time. And yet fragmentation of the file may not be possible or may lead to an incomplete aggregation of the information required to make sound and meaningful decisions on the particular issue. A basic requirement for sound governmental administration is therefore that all decisions must be made on the basis of utilising or consulting all known and available information. Without access to all the information the decision making process becomes impaired and national development suffers.

There are other costs which are associated with the processing and handling of information. Information and data are costly and valuable resources that should be managed in the same manner as other costly and valuable resources. In order to improve and reduce the management costs it is essential to determine and measure the costs involved in the collecting, processing distribution and storage of information. To achieve this financial information, among other things, will assist and enable the following questions to be answered:

• Is the information needed and is it worth the cost?

• Is the information and data being processed in the best way and at the least cost?

• Can existing methods be changed or streamlined to save money and improve operations?

• Are there duplications or other unnecessary steps in processing information and how much can be saved by eliminating them?

• How else can information costs be reduced without compromising quality?

• Should the organisation automate or use more recent technology and how much will be saved by this?

It is difficult to quantify the cost of information. Costs are accumulated in accounting records and through cost estimating procedures, by standard accounting classifications and these costs are accumulated by the organisation through programmes and projects, not by information product, data storage location or data element. Those in the field of information resources management estimate that a high percentage of activity and its costs relates to the preparation, obtaining, processing, storing and out-putting of data and information for use in running an organisation. In addition to personnel costs information activities incur expenditure in the following areas:

• Facilities such as rent and other overheads.

• Supplies obtained for information processing, e. g pencils, paper and pens.

• Maintenance - the cost of maintaining the facilities and equipment used for processing information. To this must be added the indirect costs for maintaining equipment partially used for information activities, e.g. vehicles used to collect information.

• Telecommunications are used entirely for information purposes and are a fully accountable item.

• Transport and travel expenses incurred for the purpose of obtaining, verifying correcting or delivering information

  .

• Training of personnel involved in various aspects of information processing

In 1997, the Records Management Society of Britain reported that:

• Each form in the average office costs about 84p to produce and 20 times that amount to complete. (in Canada in 1986, the estimate was that for every $1. 00 spent printing a form $20.00 was spent in clerical processing costs).

• 60p of every pound spent in handling records is wasted.

• The cost of records stored in active files is high and 1500 copies per drawer in a four-drawer cabinet could contain twenty thousand pounds worth of records.

• In 1985 a business letter cost £5.40 produced by senior managers had gone up to thirteen pounds each

• Every inch of paper in a filing cabinet costs on average two hundred pounds to create and ten pounds a year to store.

• In Canada the average cost of each misfiled record or "filing mistake" is over sixty pounds.

Effective management of information and information resources is essential in reducing costs, and improved information management can save significant amounts of money. Many organisations incur excessive costs because of a number of factors.

• Duplicate collection of information including cases where two divisions or departments within the same organisation carry out independent surveys to obtain the same data.

• Costs of unreliable information. Unreliable information is that which will no longer be current, accurate or complete requiring work to correct and leading to poor managerial or operational decision making based on uncorrected and unreliable data.

• Costs of failing to obtain or use pertinent information as can happen when for instance overpayments are made to benefactors because critical data about the recipients is not available.

• Failure to use current information processing technology. An agency in the American Government found that millions of dollars could be saved by replacing obsolete but still operational computers.

• Inability to retrieve stored information, such costs must include the resources expended in unsuccessfully attempting to obtain information and the problems involved in making decisions without the needed information.

• Collecting unneeded data. Many systems are designed at a time when there is a real need for certain information or data. However, changing circumstances may reduce or cancel the need for this once needed data. To continue to collect and process such data will be expensive and resources should be applied towards reviewing information needs and eliminating the collection and processing of data no longer needed.

• Other problems include excess output, poor system design, unnecessary dissemination, inadequate dissemination and poor internal controls.

The movement to democratise the political systems was accompanied by pressure to transform national economies from the closed rigidly controlled systems characteristic of the 1970's and early 1980's to open market systems fully sensitive to world economic realities. Many countries both willingly and unwillingly embarked on Economic Reform Programmes that have fundamentally transformed the socio-economic systems. The Economic Reform Programmes were multi-faceted and far reaching. Gone were the days when Governments controlled and determined the exchange rates for foreign currency irrespective of the market realities. Trade barriers were brought down leading to an influx of imports as well competition for hitherto heavily insulated and protected domestic industries and markets. There was insistence on Government fiscal discipline with the major thrust being the reduction of the budget deficit through streamlining of the civil service and reduction of the parastatal subsidies. The key words in civil service reform became "efficiency and effectiveness" requiring the overhaul of the human resource management policies and systems and rationalisation and downsizing of the services. The requirement to reduce budget deficits also resulted in moves to commercialise and privatise services both in government establishments as well as in parastatals.

The impact of the Economic Reform Programmes on the general populace was mixed. While on one hand the reforms brought welcome relief to population's that for too long had to endure and become used to shortages of many commodities and essentials. the reforms resulted in rapid price increases, and higher inflation and interest rates. Various mechanisms that were instituted to cushion vulnerable social groups form the adverse effects of the reform programmes did not succeed to expectation and there were many hardships resulting in some governments now and again refusing to comply with the stringent requirements imposed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The liberalisation of the economies and the democratisation of political systems have created immense challenges for African Governments. In particular, the reforms have demanded that African Governments develop the capacity to run and manage economic and political systems operating in liberalised and democratised environments. In responding to these challenges African Governments have focused their energies in developing capacities and infrastructures that were seen as crucial for the success of the Reform Programmes. But in all this activity only a few countries have seen it as essential to pay attention to the development of the records and information management infrastructures. This has cost African Governments dearly and a few examples will illustrate this. In the public services the general trend has been to improve government efficiency and effectiveness. This has involved a number of processes including rationalisation of the service and downsizing, strict budgetary control to reduce fiscal deficits, outsourcing of services and privatisation of loss making parastatals to eliminate state subsidies. It has however not been easy for Governments to achieve the stringent targets set by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and part of this is attributable to the poor state of records management. The exercises to downsize the civil service have faced difficulties when it is realised that the human resource records are incomplete, that not all job descriptions are available and that there is no comprehensive information on the performance of civil servants. The public servants are often regulated by hundreds of promulgations, circulars and minutes which are sent to Ministries and departments. These become misfiled in the registry systems and human resource managers find themselves applying inaccurate and outdated promulgations. The job evaluation systems may over the years have become fragmented and it is difficult to decide how the jobs were rated in relation to others.

Privatisation and commercialisation of certain state run enterprises is a key element of the Economic Reform Programme. Its essence is the shedding of activities and responsibilities which the state had incorporated into its portfolio but which , it is felt, would be better provided for by the private sector. The programme is also part and parcel of efforts to deregulate the economies and remove monopolies which had been bestowed on parastatals. The rationale for commercialisation and privatisation is laudable. However attempts to implement the policies have met many obstacles, some of which relate to the availability and exploitation of records and information.

In some of the Commonwealth countries like Kenya and Zimbabwe which have economically privileged and dominant White minorities, ft is seen as desirable that the process be linked to the indigenisation of the economy. But here the problems begin. The records of the Companies Registries may not be in a serviceable condition. In Zimbabwe it was recently found that the records of the Registrar of Companies had become disorganised and difficult to access. There were problems in assessing the extent to which the indigenous community had become involved in the format business sector.

Some Governments as in Uganda have decided to decentralise their administrative systems. In Zimbabwe there has also been a restructuring and amalgamation of rural and district councils. These developments have created a need for fully operational and effective records management systems at the local authority level and the creation of strong information links between the local authorities and the central government organs. The records systems in both cases are however weak and this has caused immense administrative difficulties. There have also been problems in that without good records keeping it is difficult for central government to trace accountability. Repeatedly there are cases of local authorities being investigated for misdemeanours and over and over again the relevant records cannot be found. The implications in terms of wasted national resources are grave.

There are also other national losses and wastages arising out of poor records management practices. With an ever narrowing national tax base resultant from the Economic Reform Programme changes it becomes more imperative for Governments to collect taxes more efficiently. In most African Governments the taxation systems are still manual. The records systems are also cumbersome and unwieldy. In theory, it should be possible to link returns by an employer or employers to those of the beneficiaries and therefore calculate tax obligations more accurately. But because the records management systems are very poor this is near impossible and individuals and corporations are literally taxed in terms of what they choose to declare and not what they are obligated. There is not even the possibility of linking returns on value added tax with those of the businesses which are mandated to collect such taxes. The resultant losses in revenue are large and it is generally accepted that African Governments are managing to recover only a tiny proportion of the revenue that they should be receiving.

There are costs related to the exercise of human rights and democracy. The primary responsibility of registering voters and running elections lies with the departments of the Registrar General. The demarcation of constituency boundaries however is dependent on accurate information about the number of people in each area. In many countries the records of the Registrar Generals' Departments are in shambles. In Zimbabwe recently, resulting from a court challenge brought by a parliamentary candidate who alleged irregularities in the voters roll, it was found that the voters roll was so inaccurate that many people who voted should not have been there. Further investigations showed that some people were able to register in more than one constituency. As the exercise to clean up the voters rolls gathered momentum it was also discovered that more than 100 000 people were deceased and yet still on the national voters roll.

There are injustices resulting from poor records management. The judiciary system is dependent on accurate records keeping in order to speedily dispense justice. However this becomes impossible when the case files cannot be found quickly and when cases have to be deferred because the case files are missing. There are instances when no one knows who had the file between the prosecutors office, the clients lawyers, the police and the presiding magistrate. It is also often impossible to link current crimes to earlier transgressions because information on the latter cannot be found.

As has been demonstrated above, there are many costs resulting from the failure of African nations to manage records effectively. It is unfortunate that data for the quantification of these costs is not readily available and would require expensive resources. This would however be a most useful exercise as it would jolt African Governments into according priority to records management.

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