Public Records and Archives Administration Department (PRAAD)

Overview

The Public Records and Archives Administration Department (PRAAD) manages public records, archives, and documents for Ghana, headquartered on Castle Road in Adabraka, Accra. Operating under the Office of the Head of Civil Service, PRAAD oversees the full lifecycle of public records, from creation and maintenance to disposal or permanent transfer to archival repositories.

History

The institution's origins trace to 1946, when British colonial administration appointed librarian Marjorie Harris to organize scattered Colonial Administration records that had been neglected in offices and storerooms across the Gold Coast; J. M. Akita succeeded her as government Archivist later that year. The Archives Ordinance of 1955 formalized the National Archives. A Search Section, established in May 1952, opened the archive's holdings to public and postal inquiries, and a document rehabilitation centre for damaged records was also created that year; photographic reproduction services followed in 1955 and microfilming by 1969. Regional offices opened in Kumasi and later Koforidua, Cape Coast, Sekondi, Ho, Tamale, and Sunyani. The Accra headquarters moved to its present Castle Road site in 1961, opening formally in December 1962. The department was reconstituted as PRAAD under the Public Records and Archives Administration Department Act, 1997 (Act 535).

Collections, Holdings, and Publications

PRAAD's principal record groups include Administrative Records (ADM), Supreme Court Records (SCT), a Newspaper Collection (NP), Ecclesiastical Records (EC), Maps and Plans (MP), a Special Collection (SC), and a post-independence Ministerial Record Group (RG). Holdings include the personal papers of prominent Ghanaians such as first president Kwame Nkrumah, Kwegyir Aggrey, and Kobina Sekyi, gathered through a nationwide appeal for private archives. Regional offices hold complementary material, including colonial-era Northern Territories administrative records in Tamale and an important 1930-1950 newspaper collection in Cape Coast.

Access and Usage

Researchers can consult records at the National Archives search room in Accra or at regional PRAAD offices, generally after providing identification and a letter of endorsement describing their research; however, conservation problems, particularly with older newspaper holdings, and constrained funding have raised concerns about the long-term preservation of some collections.