Evaluation of records management system at Mbale Municipal Local Government Council

Abstract

This study was about Evaluation of records Management system at Mbale Municipal Local Government Council. The study was conducted basing on the main objectives which included; To identify the types of records found at Mbale municipal local government council, To find out the records management system used at MMLGC, To identify the challenges faced when managing records at Mbale municipal local government council and To suggest solutions on how records are to be managed at Mbale municipal local government council. . The researcher reviewed the existing literature related to the topic and primary data was also collected to answer the study objectives. The study unveiled the different formats in which records are kept and these included manual and electronic formats, types of manual records kept included confidential records, subject file records, general subject file records , types of electronic records included Approved budgets, accounting warrants, bank reconciliation reports, types of records created and maintained included receipts , staff personal records, procurement files , Bid documents, appointment letters, transfers, plots files, building plans, contract files, procurement action files. The records management system used at Mbale municipal local government council included the manual records management system and the electronic records management system. The challenges include limited storage space, misfiling of records, and theft of sensitive records by corrupt officers and absence of records management profession. The solutions suggested to solve these challenges include; proper shelving, employing qualified personnel, use of both automated and manual records management system, periodic auditing and Providing records security. Questionnaires, observation and interview were very paramount data collection methods used in the study to achieve the research objectives. Data was captured into the Computer using excel processor and then imported into a 20.0 Scientific Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) to provide logical frequencies and associations. Finally, the study suggested a range of recommendations to improve the records management system. These included Automation of records, hiring of qualified staff , coming up with a records management policy adequate funding of the records departments, and provision of the adequate space to the records storage.