Records, Computers, and Resources: A Difficult Equation for Sub-Saharan Africa.

• Author: BARATA, KIMBERLY

Computerization has led to rapid and dynamic changes in the way organizations operate, and the strategies adopted for integrating and managing paper and electronic records are changing over time as well. The world's wealthiest nations are investing substantially in electronic records management programs; developing countries do not have the resources to do so. However, ongoing research and development must produce methodologies that are accessible and affordable to developing nations. If records are to survive and be useful in supporting the functions of a public organization, ensuring the rights of citizens, and preserving a cultural record of the past, then records professionals in developing countries need to be engaged in the global discussion of how best to capture, manage, and preserve computerized information over time.

This article focuses on the issues for managing public-sector electronic records in Anglophone sub-Saharan Africa. Its key objective is to raise awareness and encourage further dialogue so that all records managers may better understand the common problems experienced around the world. Many of the issues identified are similar to those faced throughout the developing world and by institutions with little funding in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Insights are drawn from working with national governments and educational institutions throughout sub-Saharan Africa, including those in Botswana, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

The first section presents a high-level overview of the main problems with computerization and the management of electronic records commonly found in the public sector in Commonwealth Africa. The opinions expressed are based on one author's experience working as a records management consultant and researcher in the region. Short case studies from the other authors provide perspectives from both an operational point of view (the National Archives of Namibia) and from the standpoint of an educational institution (the Archives and Records Management Department at Moi University, Kenya).

Intentionally, the authors do not attempt to offer advice for solving the issues raised. The expectation is to define the problem more clearly and lead to broader discussion, recognizing that technology alone will not solve any problems, but that the solutions must be integrated within the social, institutional, and policy context. This recognition applies to situations found in every country in the world. The challenge, therefore, is not to find solutions that can be implemented by programs with unlimited resources. Rather it is to identify strategies that address situations where capacity and infrastructure are limited -- but where the need still exists.

Information and Communication Technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa

Over the last 20 years, much of the developed world has been transformed by what are now termed information and communication technologies (ICTs). African governments, like others elsewhere, are eager to implement technological solutions as part of their programs to demonstrate accountability to citizens, the courts, and the legislature as well as to improve efficiency. ICTs are seen as a significant means of accelerating development and promoting economic growth.

In sub-Saharan Africa, financial functions are often the first to be computerized. Integrated financial management systems, integrated personnel and payroll systems, debt management systems, and systems to collect revenue from customs and excise comprise the key systems. Apart from these large strategic systems, databases are often developed to assist essential government services such as passport control and vehicle licensing.

Developing country governments are coming under increasing pressure by the donor aid agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to improve services to citizens. Therefore, in addition to implementing database projects, many public-sector institutions are beginning to initiate e-government projects. Yet most are only at an early stage of modest use of the Internet to post information about themselves for the benefit of citizens and business partners. The reality is that a great many of these computer initiatives have failed.

These failures are the result of

* an idealistic determination for self-reliance on the part of the public service

* a simple lack of economic or human resources to acquire and utilize ICTs

* the lack of telecommunications infrastructure to support them

In most cases in sub-Saharan Africa, public-sector ICT projects are funded by international or bilateral donor aid money. External consultants and aid agency advisers largely drive the project design and implementation. As a result, little regard often exists for institutional structures and responsibilities. Given the circumstances described previously, it is not surprising that many, if not most, ICT projects fail in the Commonwealth sub-Saharan region. According to a survey on government and the Internet, approximately 85 percent of all public-sector ICT projects anywhere in the world are failures (Ramsey 2000).

In developing countries, government ministries, departments, and agencies are often advised to passively adopt standard ICT products that have been developed in industrialized countries and which can be employed immediately. Successful use of ICTs, however, requires much more than the mere installation and application of new hardware and/or software. In addition, it requires the use of implied knowledge of the organization along with management of the technology and its application to the environment in which it is used.

This implied knowledge suggests accumulated experience from the use of previous technologies over time. New ICT implementations are often unsuccessful where an organization lacks the knowledge accumulated by previous experience. Because it is common for much of the work to be done by consultants, implied knowledge is lost when the consultant leaves. In cases where civil service counterparts are trained to run the system, they more often than not leave to work in the private sector soon after the project is completed. Wages in the public service are simply too low to retain competent, qualified staff.

The high failure rate of many strategic ICT systems means that when systems are abandoned, a great deal of data and records are cast off. This record loss leaves gaps in organizational data and records. For example, financial management systems are a focal area for computerization initiatives. Older government accounting systems written in COBOL and other mainframe languages are rapidly being abandoned in favor of commercially available networked integrated financial management systems. As new systems are adopted, the older data is left to deteriorate. No efforts are made to maintain access to these electronic records even though financial regulations may require that the information still be available for a specified period.

When...