PM stresses protection of govt records, documents
DODOMA: PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa has directed records and archives managers to continue being custodians of government documents and control arbitrary disposal to prevent leakage of classified government information.
The Premier made the directive yesterday when gracing the 11th Tanzania Records and Archives Management Professionals Association (TRAMPA) annual general meeting (AGM) held in Dodoma.
“Let me emphasise, the records and archives managers are supposed to be custodians of government classified information, the information should not be discussed anywhere outside the government systems,” PM said.
Mr Majaliwa instructed them to avoid careless disposal of official government documents to avoid those documents being scattered on the streets, particularly in market places where they are being used as packaging material.
“You (records and archives managers) have to continue to be the guardians of record keeping …we want our government records to be in safe hands,” Mr Majaliwa added.
The PM joined former President, Mzee Ali Hassan Mwinyi who is also the TRAMPA guardian to insist on embracing ethics and taboos of their profession, adding that records and archives is a sensitive profession which is relied by the government.
“Your profession needs people with integrity and effective records management skills as well as daily responsibility,” he added.
More so, the PM encouraged the employers to put priority on appreciating the records and archives managers and their responsibilities by providing them with incentives in various areas such as on-the-job training opportunities, overtime allowances, as well as promotions.
In line, Mr Majaliwa said he is pleased with the theme of TRAMPA’s 11th meeting ‘the proper records management is catalyst for development and well-being of the nation’ since it reminds the professionals to focus on ethics and professionalism.
“I have no doubt that the choice of this theme is going to remind the records and archives managers to focus on ethics and professionalism and continue to live up to their oaths and finally enable leaders and public service providers to carry out their duties with confidence in the records and documents they use,” he added.
He further noted that the theme also emphasises all public servants and all heads of public institutions to ensure that they have the right infrastructure, use modern equipment and adhere to guidelines to strengthen the management and proper use of records and documents.
“The theme also supports the efforts of our sixth phase government led by Samia President Samia Suluhu Hassan in implementing the instructions of the 2020-2025 manifesto of the ruling party CCM,” he said.
Adding: “Article 71(c) of the CCM manifesto emphasise on strengthening and preserving records and documents in modern technology and uploading documents in a digital system.”
The PM added that the government has been making deliberate efforts to strengthen the public sector by making various improvements to enable the sector to meet public expectations.
He identified some deliberate efforts to strengthen the public sector made by the government as embarking on use of digital systems such as e-Office Management System which facilitates access to various government information and ensure soft provision of the services to wananchi.
For his part, Minister of State in the President’s Office (Public Service Management and Good Governance), Mr George Simbachawene said that in the financial year 2023/24, the government has approved a total of 930 new jobs for the records and archives managers’ profession.
“In recognition of the contribution of the profession in the welfare of public institutions, a total of 649 records and archives managers have been promoted,” he underlined.