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Regime must address striking magistrates' concerns
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
November 08, 2007

The Movement for Democratic Change notes with dismay the government's lackadaisical attitude towards the crippling strike by prosecutors, magistrates and supporting staff at the Ministry of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. The justice delivery system is the cornerstone of any democratic state but the ZANU (PF) regime has over the years paid scant regard to this very important and crucial sector but has instead neglected the welfare of the vital cogs which make the wheels of justice turn.

For a number of years, the plight of prosecutors, magistrates and supporting staff have been highlighted in various Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Portfolio Committee reports, press reports and through other avenues but the ZANU (PF) governments has failed to address the situation. They work in appalling conditions without basic equipment and stationary and to add salt to injury, earn meager salaries which make a mockery of their qualifications.

It is very sad when one sees respectable Magistrates before whom Legal Practitioners bow when in court jostling to get a ride home in dilapidated kombis with some of the people whom they would have tried. When one sees them in court dressed in their court regalia and contrast that with their home environment where most are lodgers, it becomes evident that there is something seriously wrong which needs urgent attention.

The situation is equally bad for prosecutors and other supporting staff who have all been reduced to beggars when society looks upon them as paragons of success. It is time that the ZANU (PF) regime pays attention to this very important Ministry as failure to do so will result in anarchy and disastrous consequences.

Already, Police cells are bursting at the seams with accused persons who cannot be taken to court because new cases are not being attended to. This compounds an already terrible situation as at the best of times the cells are overcrowded and filthy.

Furthermore, those already in remand prison can not be released and trials have had to be postponed. Justice delayed is justice denied and the people who will suffer the most are the accused persons who are presumed innocent until it is proved otherwise.

But this regime cannot be bothered by such issues as it is preoccupied with maintaining its grip on power. Everything else becomes secondary and that explains why no action is being taken to address the situation. It is busy addressing symptoms instead of going to the root cause of the malaise affecting Zimbabwe at the moment. The regime must begin to address the macro economic fundamentals instead of continuing to blame everybody else except itself.

The Movement for Democratic Change therefore calls upon the Minister of Justice, Permanent Secretary and Chief Magistrates to appreciate the plight of the poor magistrates, prosecutors and supporting staff instead of taking a hardline stance. The issue has been ignored for too long and it is high time that the issue of the working conditions and remuneration of staff in the Ministry of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs receives serious attention.

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