Matangira, Violet2016-04-272016-04-272016http://hdl.handle.net/11070/1644A dissertation submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Records and Archives Management)Good recordkeeping systems are reported to have existed in the colonial period, while general crisis situations have been reported in many postcolonial African nations, including Zimbabwe. The main concern of this study was why this seemingly success factor in colonial recordkeeping failed to continue in postcolonial Africa, including Zimbabwe, as reported in various studies. In light of these insights, this study therefore sought to conduct an investigation of the status of records and archives management in postcolonial Zimbabwe so as to have in-depth explanations on its postcolonial recordkeeping experiences. The study took a colonial-postcolonial dimension in an effort to gain in-depth explanations on the strengths or weaknesses of current recordkeeping practices; and to find out if the situation regarding recordkeeping, as observed in other countries, is applicable to the Zimbabwean context. This case study on Zimbabwe, carried out within an interpretivist paradigm, employed qualitative data collection methods of interviews, observations and documents search. This was in order to gain in-depth insights into the state of records and archives management in the Public Service of Zimbabwe; which constituted the population of the study. The total targeted sample was 76 interviewees distributed as follows: three persons from each of the 24 Ministries comprising the Permanent Secretary, the Records Supervisor, and one Action Officer; three from the National Archives of Zimbabwe comprising the Director, Head of Records Management section and Head of Public Archives section; and one key person from the Ministry of Information & Communication Technology, Postal & Courier Services (MICTPCS) responsible for ICT issues in the Public Service of Zimbabwe. Observations were made on recordkeeping facilities at the registries within the Ministries. In addition, an assessment of related recordkeeping documents was also carried out The study revealed that, contrary to the general notion of collapsing recordkeeping systems in many postcolonial African scenarios, the recordkeeping systems established in the colonial era in Zimbabwe did not actually collapse but, in fact, the continued use of these archaic manual systems from the colonial past became the main source of recordkeeping problems in Zimbabwe. The absence of information communication technologies (ICTs) in the management of records and archives overwhelmed the traditional manual system resulting in the system‟s failure to incorporate technology-based records into the formal recordkeeping systems. This problem was compounded by lack of ICT resources, skills, and a general lack of government commitment to make a paradigm shift from manual to electronic recordkeeping systems. Nevertheless, the study also found many strong points in Zimbabwe‟s recordkeeping systems. Top among them is that Zimbabwe inherited a strong recordkeeping system from the colonial times and by the time of independence; the country had over four decades of archival experience. In addition, the transitional period into independence did not disrupt recordkeeping systems but in fact allowed continuation and consolidation of recordkeeping work. The government‟s deliberate records management expansion drive, which saw the decentralisation of records management facilities and an active archivist training programme helped consolidate recordkeeping work in Zimbabwe. Archival legislation was also revised and improved to support the expansion drive. The study attributes the strong archival framework found in the country to a cocktail of these factors even though there were operational problems in between the life-cycle stages. The study, however, singles out the effects of the current Zimbabwean political and economic crisis which threatens to derail the good framework available; worsens the weak points already in the system, and could lead to collapsing recordkeeping systems. With this state of affairs in Zimbabwe, the study recommends, through a proposed model, points of intervention that recognise the strong factors found in the system but also incorporates those factors that have been overlooked. More importantly, it recommends introducing new aspects of ICTs that relate to electronic records management, which were found to be inadequate in the current recordkeeping systems.enRecords managementArchives managementPost colonial ZimbambweRecords, Management, ZimbabwePublic records, ZimbabweArchives, ManagementArchives, ZimbabweThesis