1. INTRODUCTION
Sierra Leone lies on the West coastline of Africa with a length of 28,000 square miles in duration and bordered on the West by Guinea and Liberia with a population of seven million and ninety-two thousand one particular hundred and thirteen(7,092,113). It has a terrific variety in the area of pure elements that comprise diverse topography, climatic affliction as perfectly as vegetation styles. Sierra Leone has a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of less than 7.5 %, with a reduced for every capita money of citizens. The rationale for this appalling figure of GDP can be partly attributed to the mismanagement of methods( human and products) which are not accounted for through supporting records for the total progress of the region. Thus the deficiency of transparency and accountability by means of documents has frequently been the persistent documents administration problems which have an effect on just about every Ministries, Departments and Company (MDAs). The serious records administration difficulties have been the contributing components for the struggling of a vast majority of Sierra Leoneans which cast the blame squarely on lousy governance. This condition has been manifested in the political dispensation of the past and present governments above the command of resources (human and materials) for the total growth of the state. As superior governance issues turn into immensely essential, information maintaining should really be attentively paid to. This is evidenced in the rights and responsibilities of men and women as data have unlimited primary benefit. On this observe, it could be realised that any contemporary financial state which are unable to very regard document maintaining rarely establish with out the existence of great information and facts. This is mainly because details is viewed as a commodity vital to setting up for nationwide improvement in this sort of an economy. In this vein the researcher suggest to investigate about the records administration scenario at Ministry of Finance and Financial Advancement (MOFED) in improving accountability and transparency(sustainable development) in Sierra Leone.
1.1 Statement OF THE Problem
Around the several years a whole lot of problems have been uncovered as pivotal to the existing problems and significant to the foreseeable future achievements of general public sector information management in Africa, Sierra Leone to be certain:
The ineffective use of authorized framework that guards the selection generating about document classification, preservation, and destruction of records is typically made in an abrupt method.
Document retaining issues can not be attained without the need of the coaching of records staff at the general public sector.
It is continue to a truism that File Managers are not very well paid in conditions of income compared to other informational practitioners such as accountants and finance officers and minor appreciation of their task. This low profile is mainly the consequence of inadequate means for information keeping.
The deficiency of investigate programmes to market information management troubles extra widely within and outside the house government to emphasize the significant of good quality data retaining for the delivery of accountable, efficient and economical, and clear governing administration.
The absence of accessibility to nicely-organised information which can be employed to formulate, implement, and maintained successful expert services. In Sierra Leone it is a widespread observe in both of those authorities and private departments for records officers to drop and misfile file because of disorganized methods.
The benefit of documents and the data they have, as perfectly as their possible for exploitation, in assistance of fantastic governance (sustainable growth), is not entirely appreciated and comprehended throughout Sierra Leone culture.
As a result dependent on these challenges highlighted higher than, the need to have to investigate on community sector data to maximizing excellent governance prompted the researcher to investigate about the history administration circumstance at public sector organisations especially MoFED.
1.2 AIMS AND Targets OF THE Review
The major Intention of the study will be to critically assess no matter if or not community sector documents are made and managed efficiently and successfully at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Growth (MoFED) in boosting superior governance, transparency and accountability in administration. Although the principal goal of the review is to investigate irrespective of whether or not there is a information management division headed by the documents manager in using correct custody of all ministry documents.
1.3 RELEVANCE OF THE Analyze
The relevance of this study can not be overemphasized. The examine is related to the subsequent beneficiaries.
Foremost is the Governing administration of Sierra Leone as sponsoring agent in disbursing resources for the environment of organisation-wide conventional for the cost of particular file devices and gadgets for the management of data. This will enhance the authorities to lessen expenditure for data management machines and supply in maintaining the budget-line regular. Also it will produce enhancement of the total performance and productiveness in an organisation when expense-benefit tactic is taken care of.
Also, the researcher is of the feeling that the analyze will provide as a useful resource product for the administration of documents throughout Govt Ministries, Departments and Companies (MDAs) of which MoFED is no exception. It will also enhance catastrophe management solution for faster and much better administration selections across MDAs.
Further, staff at MoFED will come across the study helpful as they will be capacitated in the administration of information and archival administration. For instance large price is associated in processing of MoFED data, but they have no employees assigned to the duty of reviewing records procedures and strategies, if any, with the goal of lowering charge. Consequently the MoFED team will be experienced for this undertaking.
In addition, the research is pertinent to the MoFED administration/registry staff as it will give a great product which can be created into ideal document administration and archival methods for implementation. Nearly, MoFED administration really should maintain all records about the Ministry and so their registry/administration staff really should assimilate the rising records management technologies.
At last, the general public additional so customers and researchers, will come across the examine suitable as it permits them to have a improved understanding of the administration of information, and will make sure that their records are effectively kept and appraised. As a result the proper to access information by the public will be increased for accountability and transparency.
1.4 Style and design OF THE Review
The research will consider specific variables linked to the creation and management of general public sector information at MoFED. These are procedures, tips, and standards services, machines and supplies present-day, semi-existing and non-recent records preservation, safety and teaching competency disposition and retention ICT very good governance (sustainable progress), transparency, accountability and corruption users and many others.
In this analyze the population will be stratified into a few categories: Deal Officer (CO), Civil Servant Officers (CSO) and other team at MoFED. And the sampling system to be used is the uncomplicated stratified randomized sampling method mainly because of it heterogeneous character of the inhabitants and homogeneous in stratum.The intended samples sizes will be: 30 Civil Servant Officers, 20 Contract Officers, and 10 for other workers respectively.
Also, the methodology for this study will be the two qualitative and quantitative approaches. For qualitative system observation and interviews will be executed and information and facts will also be elicited from textual content books, journals and internet and for quantitative approach questionnaires will be administered in gathering knowledge. The creator has now designed an exploratory interview from some senior and junior personnel relating to the aforementioned variables to be incorporated into the questionnaire for the primary examine.
Eventually, for quantitative research technique the treated knowledge will be introduced/scored in different formats in the subsequent chapters: tabulations, charts, graphs and many others, and then interpreted and analyzed centered on precise aims relating to the management of records at MoFED. A Z-rating and Probility worth will be utilised to test speculation to prove regardless of whether or not fantastic information maintaining increase transparency and accountability at MoFED adminstrtion.
