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Ray Bande in TROUTBECK, Nyanga
THE honeymoon is over for free riders in the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) as officers of the court must now justify their presence at work, Chief Justice Luke Malaba warned yesterday.
In his presentation on the “Provision of quality justice through commitment to duty and service delivery”, during a two-day conference for registrars and sheriffs at Troutbeck Resort in Nyanga, Chief Justice Malaba warned officers of the court against being redundant within the organisation.
Chief Justice Malaba said corruption had no place in the JSC and those who engaged in unethical conduct were not only tarnishing their own image, but that of the country’s entire justice delivery system.
“The time is up for free riders in the JSC,” he said. “A free rider is that person who will benefit without doing anything. You get a car because all the other judges are getting cars. You get a salary or a laptop because everyone else is getting a salary or a laptop. This is unacceptable.
“Corruption is antithetical to what the JSC stands for. It is unacceptable. You make decisions that are influenced by other things other than what the rules say. We cannot play our part in attaining Vision 2030 for the country with corrupt officers. Politicians talk of Vision 2030 for Zimbabwe to become an upper middle class economy.
“The JSC has to be part of this matrix. You surely can’t have a JSC living in 2010, 2013 while the rest of the country will be in 2030. We need to be part of this process and that demands being innovative on our part as officers of the court.”
Chief Justice Malaba said officers of the court needed to be empathetic.
“People don’t come to court for pleasure,” he said. “It is because they want relief. Perhaps it is a woman who have had fights with her husband and you are there as a Registrar, you are frowning. You are adding to their misery.
“They actually start losing confidence with the whole justice delivery system even before they face the judge because of your conduct. You have damaged the reputation of the entire system.”
Chief Justice Malaba reminded officers of the court of their responsibility to be impartial.
“There is no need to look too much into the person,” he said. “This is when you start seeing other things and forget your purpose and roles. Why asking them where they come from? They will tell you I come from Masvingo, so and so village. That is when you discover they are from the same village as yours and at that moment you cease to be a registrar. You are now a homeboy or home site. You lose the impartiality. That is unacceptable.”
The theme of the conference is: “Improved quality of justice through commitment to duty and service delivery”.
Among other aims, the conference seeks to break down institutional barriers within the JSC.
The presentations made by different experts and authorities in the country’s justice delivery system.
In addition, the conference is expected to compliment the steps taken by JSC in training, mentoring, developing, guiding and assisting registrars and sheriff’s through the standard operating procedures published in September 2021.
Online Reporter