Global Policy Forum

Ten years ago in Ghana, government offices and corridors were piled high with files containing the primary source of information about the nation's political, economic, and social development. Three million inactive files made it extremely difficult to locate information about any aspect of government policy or service delivery, while creating easy opportunities to hide the trail of corruption.

But the situation has been transformed. Through key reforms and a dynamic work program, Ghana has demonstrated that it is possible create efficient records management systems, and in the process has opened a new avenue for deterring corruption and providing accessible information for computerization.

Today, these efforts are providing inspiration for other countries around the world facing similar challenges, while also offering valuable lessons on the key role that reliable, authentic, legally verifiable records play in fighting corruption and reducing poverty.

Based on the pioneering work done in this area by Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda, the World Bank's Information Solutions Group, in partnership with the International Records Management Trust, a London-based educational foundation, held a multi-site videoconference last week to discuss the implications good record management has for development.

World Bank Vice President and Chief Information Officer Mohamed Muhsin told participants that the Bank "holds this program high in its priorities to support the issues faced in fighting corruption the world over."

A statement by Harrison Mwakyembe, senior lecturer in Law from the University of Dar es Salaam, set the theme for the conference: "Without access to information there is no transparency; without transparency there is no accountability; and without transparency and accountability there is no democracy."

Ghana's Head of Civil Service Robert Dodoo further highlighted this point by explaining that "if our new democratic process is to become a reality, it must have a strong information, documentation and statistical base."

During the videoconference, the participants explored key issues such as the requirements for building and sustaining sound records management systems, the relationship between accountability and anti-corruption and records, the significance of accurate and readily accessible personnel and payroll records, and the difficulties of maintaining electronic records as legally verifiable evidence of government policies, transactions and contractual commitments.

Martern Lumbanga, chief secretary to the Tanzanian government, acknowledged "there is a need for all of us to change our attitudes in the way we make use of records. The records may be there, but sometimes we do not seem to make use of available data."

Records management and records keeping has to be seen as part of the broader public sector reform agenda and should not be treated as a separate entity, noted Sahr Kpundeh, governance and anti-corruption specialist with the World Bank Institute. Although this is a key element in any country's efforts to curtail corruption, he pointed out that "keeping records can be expensive, especially for developing countries with serious budget constraints, and certainly donors can play a key role in supporting countries to better organize their records."

However, the expense is well worth it. Uganda's Director of Public Prosecutions R. Buteera noted that in cases of fraud, where records have been properly kept, it is possible to trace back and find out where the wrongdoing happened. "But where proper records have not been kept, there is almost nowhere to begin," he said. "If by law and design a proper records management system is established, it is then easy to trace backwards and get the wrong doer."

A new initiative is now underway to launch an electronic discussion forum on the subject. This will lead to a global forum, to be hosted by the World Bank in 2001, on the contribution records management can make to public sector reform, anti-corruption programs, and post-conflict resolution.

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