The Impact of Records Centres on the Management of Public Sector Records in Kenya

This study examines the role of records centres in relation to the management of public sector records in Kenya. It highlights the inadequacies of the Public Archives and Documentation Service Act (Cap 19) of 1965 as a tool to manage public sector records. The findings of the study are based on questionnaires which were distributed to provincial archivists in charge of records centres. One of the major findings of the study is that records centres have played a significant role in the management of public sector records. The study also addresses the various problems experienced by record creators in managing public sector records and notes that the resources availed to records centres are not commensurate with their growing responsibilities in records management. Among the recommendations are that the Public Archives Act should be revised, existing provincial records centres should be converted into provincial archives, staffing at both the professional and para‐professional levels should be improved and an attempt should be made to involve records creators in the management of records created within their organisations.