Records Management Practice For Support Of Governance In County Governments Of Kenya: A Case Of Nyamira County

Abstract

Records management plays an important role in governance in spite of the fact that records management practice has not received proper support in many developing countries. The study aimed at establishing the records management practices in support of governance for the county governments of Kenya, with special focus on Nyamira County. The objectives were: to establish the contribution of records management in the running of Nyamira County, to determine the adoption of records management policies for proper records management practice in Nyamira County and to identify the barriers to effective records management in Nyamira County. This study was informed by the records life cycle theory and the records continuum theory. This study adopted a descriptive-survey research design. Both qualitative and quantitative research approaches were used in this study. The study was conducted at Nyamira County government. The target population comprised of 572 members of staff from Nyamira County and 1800 service consumers who receive services from the county government monthly as captured by the visitor’s books. Purposive sampling technique was used to select key decision makers in the management and use of records from among the staff comprising of; records management officers, records management clerks and county chief officers. Sample size of the service consumers was 180 individuals who came seeking for services at the county government. Data was gathered through interviews and questionnaires. The study found out that records management has provided a secure storage of information and documents. The research established that the county government has complied with the ISO (15489-2001) standards which have provided international guidelines on record management. It was also noted that the county government has tried to maintain systematic arrangement and storage of information in labeled files, has storage facilities in place for the documents and information and that there is documentation of the major activities in the departments. The study identified inadequate training, poor remuneration and motivation, lack of commitment by top management, insufficient funds, over accumulation of records, lack of professionalism among the records management staff, lack of policies touching on records management procedures, inadequate equipment, lack of guidance on how to manage records and lack of disposition schedules as the main challenges that affect effective records management at the county government. The study recommended that there is need to offer training to the personnel in charge of handling records as well as provision of adequate funds. The study also recommends to the records managers to fully comply with the records management policies and guidelines