3.5 Digital Archiving Readiness
3.5.1 ICT infrastructure
The increased use of ICTs by government organs, also known as Digital Governance, e-Governance, e-Government, or i-Governance, took effect in the late 1990s with the purpose of enhancing efficiency in government and improving service delivery (Lemieux 2016:5). To this end, The World Bank has to date financed the designing and implementation of 122 financial management information systems in 66 countries (World Bank 2014 cited in Lemieux 2016:5). The integration and use of ICTs has been a revolutionary game changer in the business processes of organisations and institutions (Kalusopa 2016:102). The IRMT is one of the bodies that have consistently advocated ICT application in the management of government sector records in developing countries. One end product of this global agenda has been the generation of records in new formats which has revolutionized recordkeeping in public organisations. Notably, ICTs have been utilized in setting up digital archiving systems, archival resource management systems and public access platforms that allow for the control and efficient utilization of archival resources. The relevant ICTs include various technologies used in the creation, acquisition, storage, dissemination, retrieval, manipulation and transmission of information.
ICT infrastructure is a key driver for digital records and archives management in public sector organizations. A study by Nkala, Ngulube and Mangena (2012) on e- readiness at the National Archives of Zimbabwe drew attention to the enormous generation of digital records in various formats (some of which end up as archives) as a result of the widespread adoption of ICTs in the country. A study by Kamatula and Kemoni (2018:79) investigating whether the existing e-records management practices
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promote or undermine the implementation of e-government in Tanzania established that all public offices had adopted ICT in their business functions, thereby generating large volumes of digital records. Additionally, Kenya Association of Records Managers and Archivists (KARMA) Digital Records Preservation Training Handbook (2020:47) reports that organisations throughout the world create an estimated 2.5 quintillion data bytes each day. The present study is taking place in the wake of COVID-19 during which the generation of d-records has sky-rocketed beyond the realms of such predictions by scholars and scientists, as a consequence of the working-from-home government directives using the numerous ICT platforms. This has spiraled the prerequisite for digital archiving readiness in organisations and institutions of higher learning, public and private alike, primarily because a good ICT infrastructure is a precursor for successful digital records and archives management programmes, and ultimately organizational success. The existing scenario has led to the increased adoption and implementation of digital records management and archiving systems by organisations.
Digital archiving in the context of public organisations and institutions entails taking advantage of IT to create databases of archival holdings and disseminating them online for user access, as well as digitizing archival holdings which have originally existed in traditional formats to ensure their longevity (Sobczak 2016:8). Mulauzi et al (2012:2-3) expound on the opportunities presented by ICTs in recordkeeping practices in Zambia from a lifecycle perspective by describing how recordkeeping functions are enhanced during creation (easy to create records in multiple copies and formats), use (multiple access to a record, enhanced data processing, searching and retrieval) active storage and retention (reduced costs of storage in terms of staffing, space and processing time), transfer (elimination of the physical transfer cycle) and disposal (use of automated retention schedules resulting in relatively easy disposal cycles).
Successful digital archiving requires installation of suitable digital recordkeeping systems, existence of Local Area Networks (LAN) and Wide Area Networks (WAN), strong internet connectivity and a modern, well-equipped building (Katuu 2015:135- 136; Asogwa 2013:803). Person and Plumb (2017:256-7) advise that setting up an archival repository for the preservation of an organization’s memory calls for serious
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investment in terms of sophisticated equipment such as quality archival scanners, image editing programs and online screen capture software, among others. On the flipside however, Barry (2010:168) cautions that the acquisition of ICTs for digital records and archives management is not the issue, rather, the rapid and increasing changes in technological innovations continue to deal a relentless onslaught upon digital records. Therefore, rapid developments make it difficult for prior planning to be an absolute guide for appropriate ICT acquisition. For example, USA which is the leading global economic superpower with supposedly the most advanced capacity and infrastructure for digital content management faces challenges with respect to the preservation, management and retrieval of digital information (Mutula 2014:364).
Thus, due diligence should always be observed when planning for ICT infrastructure in organizations to ensure that recordkeeping requirements are factored in with the future in perspective.
In a contrasting scenario, government sector organizations and academic institutions in developing countries continue to face challenges related to recordkeeping mainly because they lack efficient infrastructure to support digital records management. A study by Hamid (2018) in the Malaysian public sector sought to establish the readiness of government organizations towards implementing electronic records management system (ERMS) in Malaysia and revealed a state of inadequate ERM implementation due to lack of prior planning for ERM. Abuzawayda, Yusof and Aziz (2013:350) identified inappropriate IT infrastructure as a key hindrance to the success of digital records management programmes in institutions of Higher Learning in Libya. In East Africa, studies investigating the integration of ICTs in records and archives management have shown low preparedness of ICT infrastructure as the cause for the poor state of digital archives management in the region. Despite South Africa’s dominance in terms of technological advancement, findings from studies by Ngoepe and Keakopa (2011) and Ngoepe (2017) revealed that the National Archives of South Africa lacked adequate infrastructure for ingesting digital records into archival repositories. Lowry (2013) reported findings of a research project conducted by the IRMT from 2009-2011 to examine integration of records management components into ICT/e-government and Freedom of Information initiatives in East African member countries namely Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda. The focus was on the court case management system functionality in the countries. One
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important observation in the Kenyan context was that the Judicial Information Communication Technology (JICT) committee did not have representation from the Kenya National Archives and Documentation Service (KNADS) or from RM staff in the judiciary, but only comprised of government representatives and representatives from the Kenya ICT Board. Lowry (2013) interpreted this as a misguided focus on software and hardware while disregarding the digital content being managed as well as the necessary controls that should be integrated for the life-cycle management of d- records. The crux of the matter is that for the application of ICTs into recordkeeping functions to be successful, records and archives professionals must be involved right from the planning stage.
The study by Kamatula and Kemoni (2018) found that although public sector organisations had implemented ICTs, they lacked digital recordkeeping systems and skilled staff to guide the e-government initiatives. Luyombya (2010:1590) reported that networking and interconnectivity of digital systems in most government ministries in Uganda was lacking, leading to widespread inter and intra incompatibility of digital systems. Tshotlo and Mnjama (2010) carried out a records management audit at Gaborone City Council and established that there was poor integration of ICTs in records management. Similarly, Kalusopa and Ngulube (2012) carried out separate studies on the management of information and records in Botswana labour organisations. The study pointed to the sluggish and evolving pace of ICTs adoption as one of the indicators for low digital records readiness in labour organisations. In Ghana, Akussah and Asamoah (2015) carried out a survey to evaluate the management of digital records in the Public Records and Archives Administrative Department (PRAAD). The study established that PRAAD had inadequate technological capabilities to sufficiently perform in the relatively unstable digital records environment. Asogwa (2013) investigated the readiness of three Nigerian universities for electronic records management. Among other findings, the study established that the technological infrastructure for digital records management were inadequate, implying that a good number of Nigerian universities were ill- prepared for digital records and archives management.
On the Kenyan landscape, Namande (2011), Wangutusi (2013) and Belator, Mwai, Wasike and Ratemo (2019:74) point to poor ICT infrastructure including problems of
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low internet connectivity and bandwidth as the barriers to successful digital records and archives management implementation at the Kenya National Archives and Documentation Services. Another recent study by Ambira, Kemoni and Ngulube (2019) established that the state of ICT infrastructure in public sector organisations and institutions was poor, leading to the conclusion that the readiness of ministries for e-governance service provision was below bar. Further, Ambira, Kemoni and Ngulube (2019:306) cite a report by Ministry of State and Public Service (2011) which revealed that the integration of ICTs in the management of public sector records and information has been uncoordinated and disjointed, with individual ministries implementing their own approaches and strategies. The overall effect has been a flawed implementation process for digital records and archives management, affirming the notion of poor ICT infrastructure and lack of readiness for digital recordkeeping in public sector organisations in Kenya, a gap that this study attempted to address.