Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE Zanzibar government has said proper record-keeping is vital to the country’s economic, social, cultural and political development.
Minister of State in the President’s Office, Dr Saada Mkuya Salum, made the remarks during a visit to the Zanzibar Archives and Records Authority in Kilimani.
She said every nation that values progress must safeguard its historical records.
She stressed that archives guide present and future generations and must be safely preserved. However, she warned that many important documents have been lost due to poor storage, depriving generations of authentic national history.
Dr Mkuya (pictured) commended the authority for improving security systems that have helped reduce theft of valuable records.
She also directed the institution to maintain a comprehensive database of staff working in registries, describing recordkeeping professionals as “the backbone of the nation’s knowledge economy.”
She further urged close supervision of the new archives building and called for its timely completion by the end of December.
Permanent Secretary, Mr Saleh Juma Mussa, emphasised discipline and cooperation among staff, while Director Khatib Suleiman Khatib said the authority operates under the Archives Act No. 3 of 2008.
He added that the institution is mandated to preserve British and German colonial records, oral histories, church documents, newspapers and rare books.
A new system, he said, has also been introduced to curb theft by researchers who previously accessed the documents for academic work.
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