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Herald Reporters
Archives and records are tools that governments can use to enhance accountability and democratic credentials, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Permanent Secretary Mr Aaron Nhepera said yesterday.
Speaking during commemorations of the International Archives Day in Harare, Mr Nhepera said well-managed archives and records were the means through which a country could understand the “who, when, how and why of government”.
“They are a unique and irreplaceable heritage passed from one generation to another and are authoritative sources of information,” he said. “They play an essential role in the development of societies by safeguarding and contributing to individual and community memory.
“In this context, archives are vital concentrators of knowledge.”
Mr Nhepera said the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, through the Department of National Archives of Zimbabwe, decided to commemorate the day at Girls High School in line with the objective of bringing archives to the communities as a way of promoting and preserving institutional memory spaces.
Participation of communities in managing their heritage, he said, was in line with the Government’s thrust of grassroots empowerment and devolution as the country rallied towards an upper middle income economy as encapsulated by Vision 2030.
Speaking at the same occasion, the chief director in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Mr Jonathan Gandari, said they considered the national archives as an important player in the information value chain.
“The Second Republic under the leadership of His Excellency, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, recognises the effective management of the records and archives as the essential precondition of good governance and administrative transparency,” he said.
“As the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, we join the National Archives and indeed the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, in this function of disseminating information locally and internationally.”
International Archives Day is celebrated annually on June 10.
It was inaugurated by the International Council on Archives (ICA) to commemorate the foundation of the Council in 1948.
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