Terms of Reference for Record Keeping Consultants

Introduction

The Lilongwe City Council (the Council) is a public institution whose mandate is derived from the consolidated Local Government Act of 1998. The Act empowers the Council to provide municipal services to its residents, make by-laws, and mobilise necessary resources for the effective delivery of its services. Within the ambits of its mandate, the Council exists to create a conducive environment for the development and growth of trade and industry; and to facilitate the orderly and sustainable physical planning and urban development within its jurisdiction. It is also there to provide engineering services, parks and recreation services, and deliver health services to its residents.

The Council also manages public primary schools under its jurisdiction and ensures that there is prudent use of resources. Besides these core functions, it also provides administrative support services and manages finances for the Council. As it delivers its mandate, the City Council secretariate generates huge volumes of records, both electronic and paper-based records, as well as other media. The records generated enable the Council to conduct its business in an orderly, consistent, efficient, transparent, and accountable manner.

As part of its commitment to continuous improvement as highlighted in our 2021-2026 strategic plan, the Council has identified records management as a strategic area which requires upgrading. Currently, the systems are characterized by huge backlogs of unprocessed records, inefficient filing systems and lack of relevant indexes to facilitate quick access and retrieval of files. With this background information, the Council would like to engage the services of an expert to undertake a short-term assignment that will result in enhancing the efficiency of the overall records management system of the organisation in line with the aspirations highlighted in our strategic plan.

Objectives of the Assignment

The main objectives of this consultancy is to upgrade the records management system of the Council by re-organizing the records and developing relevant tools for the efficient management of the records; and facilitate the process of migrating from paper-based record keeping systems into electronic/ digital platforms.

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