KISII UNIVERSITY COLLEGE MAIN CAMPUS

FACULTY: INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT: BACHELOR OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE

COURSE: ARCHIVES ADMINSTRATION

COURSE CODE: LINS 210

ASSIGNMENT: ROLE OF ARCHIVES AND RECORDS IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

LECTURER: MR CHWEYA

PRESENTER: KELVIN OMEGA

REGISTRATION NUMBER: IN11/20026/10

SUBMISSION DATE: 13/12/2011

DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN ARCHIVES AND RECORDS In the modern world the word archives is commonly used in three different senses, First archives are documents that are accumulated in the normal course of business, second archives are independent agencies or programs, within institutions that are responsible for selecting, preserving and providing access to archival documents. Finally archives are building or repositories that house collection of archival documents. To understand archival documents in the first sense of the word it is helpful to make a distinction between records and archives. Records are all information regardless of format, that is produced or accumulated in the normal course of affairs by an individual or an organization and is maintained in order to provide evidence of specific transactions. Archives are those records that are deemed to have continuing value and are therefore retained beyond the period in which they are actively used ( The archives of individuals are sometimes referred to as personal papers or manuscripts} thus archives constitute a smaller portion of the entire documentary universe than do records. Like records, archives can exist in any format on which information has been recorded. Archival collections frequently consist of a wide variety of media in addition to traditional textual , archivists care for materials such as photographs, films, videotapes, sound recordings and magnetic tape and disks. FACILITATING ADMINSTRATIVE EFFICIENCY AND ECONOMY Government officials, individuals or agencies will need to refer to records it has created in the past to verify decisions and continuing obligations to determine precedents and conduct ongoing research operations, legal, administrative, political and diplomatic reasons if these records are disorganized, difficult to access lost and destroyed decisions and actions will not be made and it will take time in searching for needed records. If however important non current records have been kept in the national archive and properly preserved, organized and described, the archival staff will be able to quickly find and furnish the records to individuals or government officials who need the. The role of the archives as the government institutional memory becomes even more important with the passage of time. Since there is increased officials and employees. The government is forced to rely more on the institutional memory found in the archives instead of relying on the personal memories of individuals. Lack of professionally designed and managed archival institution will cause confusion, inefficiency throughout the government structure on the other hand a properly supported professional archival service will have almost immeasurable value in promoting sound decision making and administrative efficiency and economy.

PROMOTING NATURAL CULTURE AND IDENTITY The Kenya National Archives if properly, organized, managed and supported will come to embody a comprehensive account of the national experience. The origins, migrations and different cultures of different cultures of different communities the successes and failures of their leaders , the economic and social development of the society, wars and natural calamities and relationships with other people and nations. The information that the archive contains, constitutes a priceless which can be used to the betterment of the people in many ways. The archives if effectively exploited as an educational and cultural resource can be invaluable in the process of developing a sense of natural identity and in fostering peoples understanding of itself and its relationship to the rest of the world

ENSURING PROPER FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT Finance require ministries and departments to ensure that financial and audit laws generally require ministries and departments to ensure that financial and accounting records are adequately kept and managed and to empower the audit body to obtain access to all financial records. An effective record management system is a critical element in the preparation of an institutions financial statements. It will allow for the verification of the completeness and accuracy of data reported in financial statements and assist in the compilation of the audit process. An effective records management system should also ensure that financial records are maintained throughout the life cycle in a consistent and structured manner that the audit function and external accountability of the organization is supported, that the organization is able to meet its obligations under legislation and to access records for fiscal policy and planning purposes that the integrity and accuracy of the records are protected and that the records can be retrieved poor recording affects the entire accounting function since reporting and auditing may become virtually impossible. Fraud becomes difficult to detect and debt management also suffers. Good record management systems are therefore essential to support financial management.

PREVENTING CORRUPTION The root causes of corruption is the lack of good record keeping practices and failure by the Kenya government to institute measures that will ensure records are well managed people always look for loopholes in the system when they want to commit fraud. Effective record management practices are essential to ensure that there are no loopholes in the system. The number of ghost posts cannot be ascertained and the exact expenditure cannot be traced if there are non-proper or inaccurate records.

COMBATING CORRUPTION The Kenyan government established the office of the Auditor general, the Kenya Anti- corruption which is assigned with the responsibility of investigating, detecting and fighting corruption as well as promoting ethics in the office of the auditor general. The government efforts are always directed towards strengthening of these commissions. The successes of these commissions depends on the accessibility to complete, reliable and accurate records, Auditors for example establish whether proper processes were followed inn expending public monies that is whether there is supporting documentation for the purchasing of goods and services and adherence to applicable legislation and policies. Without good records meaningful audits can be carried out as the records are the source of the information required by the auditors. An effective record management system ensures that the audit function and external accountability of the organization is supported. The records themselves can serve to detect fraud and recover the loss. For example discrepancies can be detected mostly in the process of scrutinizing records. Since corruption allows an environment that allows opportunities to provide fraud. Once fraud is detected records can provide a trail for investigations to track the root of corruption. However for records to be useful in this capacity. They must be well managed and accessible.

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY Records are essential for financial accountability. Records provide a reliable, legally verifiable source of evidence, decisions and actions about the management of the government finance and are the basis for determining responsibility. They are a powerful tool in constraining individuals from engaging in corruption but if financial management systems are weak. Republic servants cannot be held accountable for their decisions and actions. Fraud and corruption will flourish. Records management is a cost is effective restraint if corrupt officials know that there is an audit trail they are less likely to take the risk, conversely a clear audit trail can protect the innocent from false accusations where the ultimate sanction of prosecution is appropriate lawyers will rely heavily upon records to provide evidence. REFERENCES BLAISE. G DAVID E (1993) Archival study and the rediscovery of provenance, public programming in the management of archives. http//postdam.libguides.com http.google.co.ke