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The Judicial Services Commission (JSC) is experiencing a high turnover of staff due to the adverse economic climate in the country, resulting in hitches in its operations, Chief Justice, Luke Malaba said on Monday.
Opening the 2024 legal year in Harare, he said JSC operations were not smooth sailing, in large part due to the high staff turnover the commission was experiencing.
“The economic climate adversely affected the remuneration levels for the majority of the members of the Judicial Service. That inevitably led to a high staff turnover, especially in the lower ranks of the organisation,” Chief Justice Malaba said.
He appealed to the government to continue supporting the commission’s initiatives to improve the conditions of service for staff members involved in the administration of justice in the country.
“Retention of experienced employees is integral to the efficient discharge of the JSC’s constitutional mandate. Whilst the JSC is grateful for the support rendered by Treasury during the period under review, the timeous and consistent disbursement of funds will assist in ensuring effective justice delivery for all, and the completion of the outstanding projects.”
Deputy Chief Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza arriving.
He said the performance of courts last year was pleasing as most managed to reduce their huge case backlogs, save for the Labour Court which saw its backlog rising in the year. The superior courts, comprising the constitutional, supreme, high, labour and administrative courts, cleared 30 179 cases out of 31 560 cases received last year, including 2 127 cases brought forward from 2022.
On the other hand last year, the criminal courts – comprising the magistrates and regional courts in all the country’s provinces – cleared 102 916 cases out of 111 934 presented, plus 12 218 brought forward from 2022.
Civil courts completed 102 927 cases last year, out of 103 778 cases presented, including 1 424 carried over from 2022.
He congratulated all judicial officers and court staff for the pleasing work and urged citizens to join the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the current Constitution.
“Everyone has a role to play in the entrenchment of constitutionalism by obeying the express commands of the Constitution. The pursuit of constitutionalism is a call on all people to seek to always conform to the constitutional order. Only then can the nation continue to enjoy the unity, peace, economic development and achieve the social justice it deserves,” he said, adding that the attainment of a democratic society that is based on openness, fairness, equality, freedom and justice depends largely on the willingness of both State and private actors to appreciate the goodness and bindingness of these foundational values and principles.- New Ziana
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter