Sierra Leone Parliament passes modern archives law to protect digital records

The Sierra Leone Parliament passed the National Records and Archives Bill, 2026, to replace a 61-year-old law with a framework that recognizes electronic records.

Information Minister Chernor Bah presented the legislation, which concludes a reform effort that started more than a decade ago. The new law removes the Public Archives Act of 1965, which critics argued was no longer sufficient for managing modern government data. The new legislation addresses several infrastructure and security gaps.

It establishes regional storage centers to ensure that national records are not concentrated only in the capital, Freetown. The law also creates standards for how public institutions create and preserve documents while protecting digital information from cyber threats and unauthorized changes. It allows citizens and researchers to access archival records and receive authenticated copies, provided they meet legal requirements. The reform aims to fix systemic issues in the country's record-keeping.

A 2023 academic assessment found that 78 percent of West African archival institutions lack climate-controlled storage. Sierra Leone's National Archives currently has the lowest archivist-to-collection ratio on the continent. The bill now awaits presidential assent and gazetting before it officially takes effect.