Record-keeping and Accountability: Ghana@50 in retrospect

By Sammy Dzandu

I have been following the proceedings of the on-going probe into Ghana @ 50 celebrations with keen interest. In fact, one's comments, views and analysis of some of the issues that are coming up during the interrogations are likely to be influenced by one's profession.

Since I am neither a lawyer nor an accountant, I would not like to meddle with any legal or accounting procedures as to whether monies were properly spent or not. However, as an archivist, I could not be silent on the issue of improper record-keeping.

Records are the lifeblood of every business. In fact, no company, institution, or government could function properly without records. Rule of law, management of state resources, probity, accountability, foreign relations and the protection of entitlements and rights of citizens are very critical to every good government. However, without records, all these would be meaningless. For instance, without the relevant dockets on cases, the prison service, the police and the law courts would find it difficult to discharge their duties effectively. Similarly, the unavailability of the relevant records on tax, procurement, customs, social security, land, schools and hospitals would hinder income generation and service delivery.

On Tuesday, August 18, 2009 the Ghanaweb posted a report filed by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the on-going investigations into the Ghana @ 50 celebrations. According to the report, Justice Isaac Duose, Chairman of the Ghana @ 50 Commission of Enquiry lamented over the way the Commission's work was becoming cumbersome due to improper record-keeping by some district assemblies. The report said most witnesses, some of whom assumed duty after the celebrations, were not able to render accounts for monies or proceeds that accrued from the celebrations with the excuse that they were not the action officers responsible at the time of the expenditure.

The Chairman could not hide his displeasure when he was quoted to have said

"If public officers keep their records straight, it does not matter who takes over from them, the records would always be there to show the situation as it is”. In fact, the Justice hit the nail on the head when he said "I mean you can't talk about good governance, democracy and rule of law when you do not keep proper records. This is not a chief's house where records are left to the imagination of someone

I cannot agree more with Justice Duose on his comments. As individuals, we have failed miserably when it comes to record-keeping. How many of us are able to keep receipts of payments that we made properly? Some of us could not even locate our pay-slips. No wonder some unscrupulous people use our pay-slips to purchase items on credit without our knowledge and huge sums of monies deducted from our salaries monthly. Some of us go through hell when we are looking for our passports, academic certificates and other important documents.

Charity, they say, begins at home. Our inability to keep our individual records properly has reflected in the way we keep official documents. Important records are dumped haphazardly under stair cases and on floors. Those (records) which have enduring value and for that matter should be preserved for posterity are destroyed while those which should be destroyed are rather being kept. In fact, nobody is assigned the specific responsibility to manage the records.

Records management is a profession; and just like any other profession, one needs to be trained to be able to perform well. Teachers, engineers, lawyers, social workers, architects, pharmacists and other professionals were made to undergo the necessary training before they were permitted to practice. Unfortunately, in the case of records management, some organizations and companies assign records management duties to people who do not have any training in that discipline. We could all guess what would happen if we entrust a patient to somebody who has no training in medicine to operate on.

Similarly, the consequences of improper record-keeping could be enormous. Some people, who, in fact, might be innocent as far as some business transactions are concerned, could find themselves at the wrong side of the law; simply because they could not keep the relevant records which could exonerate them. Others could have their properties snatched from them because they could not produce the necessary documents covering them. Classified information of organizations and companies could be leaked to unauthorized people. In fact, the price to pay for not keeping proper records can not be overemphasized.

There are quite a number of graduates from the Department of Information Studies, University of Ghana, who are looking for jobs. The District Assemblies should make use of these professionals to improve their record systems. Alternatively, the untrained staffs that are in charge of their records should be sponsored to undergo the necessary training in records management.

As a nation, we could sing the chorus “democracy and good governance” loudly but we would find it difficult to get the expected melody if we continue to keep our records badly.

E-mail: [email protected]

The writer is an archivist