Abstract:
Cooperatives in Tanzania’s Lake Zone generate many records that have archival value, but
they face challenges in managing them when they become inactive. This study aimed to
assess the status and experiences of managing inactive records by cooperatives in Lake Zone
and the prospects for improving their management. A mixed methods approach with crosssectional research design were employed in which data were collected from board members of
eight cooperatives through focus group discussions, face-to-face interviews, observation, and
document review. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data. The study revealed
that Tanzania has a rich collection of inactive cooperative records, but they are scattered in
various cooperative societies across the country without proper management. Consequently,
most of inactive records were dumped in rooms and wet places with insects that were
inaccessible to users. The board members did not recognise the importance of the generated
records in the cooperative movement. In addition, they were unaware of the availability of
Records and Archives Management Policy as a guiding tool to ensure proper management of
the generated cooperative records. This study established that the Records and Archives
Management Policy was silent about managing cooperative records. The study concluded that
cooperatives need to develop legal frameworks for cooperative records keeping, provide
resources and training for records management, and create awareness of the value of archival
records among cooperative members.
