Samia stresses justice

PRESIDENT SAMIA SULUHU HASSAN

DAR ES SALAAM: PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has called upon newly sworn in judges to exercise their expertise and adhere to professionalism when dispensing justice to the public.

The Head of State said that the government has been taking various steps to enhance judicial efficiency by availing infrastructure, manpower and adoption of Information and Communication Technology in operations.

“The government is making efforts to improve judicial manpower…it has done a commendable job in terms of availing ICT infrastructure and other requirements… we are proceeding with construction of nine buildings, of which upon completion, most of the judicial services will be available under one roof,” President Samia said yesterday after administering an oath to 24 High Court and Court of Appeal judges and other government executives.

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At the event held in Dar es Salaam, Dr Samia said that as the world changes economically and politically the country also needs to keep pace, noting that the changes are not only for executives but also for all pillars of State –Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary.

She said as the government is taking various measures to enhance judicial performance in the country its personnel should also work hard in serving the citizens.

Dr Samia further noted that the judicial personnel should work hard for the government to realise the intended outcomes.

“The government expects that through increasing the number of judicial personnel we are going to address the piling up of cases in courts, increase efficiency and also extend judicial services to the citizens through construction of infrastructures,” Dr Samia said.

She said that the judicial personnel should also build public trust by dispensing justice based on the cases presented, adding that   those who deserve justice should get it and those who don’t deserve should be told the truth.

The President also urged the judiciary to align with the 4Rs philosophy which includes Reconciliation, Resiliency, Reforms, and Rebuilding.

She noted that the efficiency of Judiciary cannot be enhanced if the personnel including judges are not read to change and work hard for the reforms to occur.

Dr Samia assured that the government is ready to render support to enhance judicial performance, enabling people to access their rights.

The President further said that the government will also continue to support the Attorney General’s Office, saying her government is ready and willing to fund both the Judiciary and the Attorney General’s office.

She concluded by expressing commitment in according full support to the judiciary in its pursuit of improvement of service delivery to the citizens in justice dispensation.

Additionally, President Samia instructed the Deputy Attorney General and the Attorney General’s Office to implement recommendations by the Criminal Justice Commission.

One of the commission’s recommendations was to ensure harmonisation of systems used by institutions involved in criminal justice administration and justice dispensation in the country.

Throughout her speech, President Samia reiterated her call on judges to embrace change and contribute to the enhanced efficiency of the judicial service.

For his part, Chief Justice (CJ) Prof Ibrahim Juma said the appointment of judges by President Samia Suluhu Hassan is places the Judiciary in a better position to dispense justice timely.

He said in two years of Samia’s leadership a total of 63 High Court judges have been appointed, making the country to have a total of 105 judges to date.

“Due to these efforts, we can now start making comparison with other countries with best judiciary practice in the world by looking at the ratio of people and the number of judges available,” he said.

The CJ said the increase in number of judges will address the delay of cases especially those who use the shortage of judges as excuse to delay cases for their personal gains.

He said improvement in justice delivery among others will strengthen investors’ confidence since their legal issues will be timely resolved in the country.

He said the government has allocated money for construction of high court infrastructure in seven regions among others Singida, Katavi, Songwe and Coast regions, noting that upon completion the judicial personnel will also be stationed in the regions.

To make the court system catch up with digital transformation, he said the government eyes on integrating Information Communication Technologies (ICT) with daily courts’ operations.

He directed the sworn in judges to be accountable and maintain integrity and patriotism to meet expectations of the President and the public, warning that there will be punishment through the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) for those who will misbehave.

Likewise, Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Tulia Ackson commended President Samia for keeping on improving the judicial system, reminding the newly judges that justice delayed is justice denied.

She urged judges to utilise their expertise on devising new ways on resolving major hurdles that obstruct smooth justice delivery.

Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa urged the judges to cooperate   to achieve the desired target of   better judicial service delivery in the country.

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