Online Reporter
Joseph Madzimure
Zimpapers Politics Hub
AS Zimbabwe pursues the objectives of National Development Strategy 2 and works towards attaining an upper-middle-income economy by 2030, it must cultivate a new generation of professionals who understand that development is about institutions that function effectively, and professionals who recognise that their knowledge carries a responsibility to society, Prosecutor-General Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo has said.
In a speech read on her behalf by Deputy Prosecutor-General Mr Nelson Mutsonziwa at the Zimbabwe Institute of Legal Studies (ZILS) graduation ceremony in Harare yesterday, Justice Matanda-Moyo said NDS2 recognises human capital development, good governance, institutional strengthening and economic transformation as essential components of the country’s development trajectory.
“The aspiration to achieve an upper-middle-income economy by 2030 cannot be realised through infrastructure and investment alone; it requires people with knowledge, skills, professional competence and the capacity to solve increasingly complex problems,” she stated.
Justice Matanda-Moyo said the legal profession and the broader justice ecosystem have an important role to play in economic transformation.
“Businesses require proper incorporation, governance, contractual arrangements, regulatory compliance and mechanisms for resolving disputes, while Zimbabwe’s mining sector requires professionals who understand mineral law, environmental obligations and safety frameworks.
“It is, therefore, a significant step for ZILS to incorporate mineral and health requirements, contractual arrangements, regulatory compliance, Mining Law and Mineral Law and Policy into its programmes, alongside labour law, arbitration, property law, commercial law and administrative justice, all of which have relevance across the economy,” she said. She noted that the legal profession was changing rapidly, with legal research increasingly becoming digital, case management and litigation becoming more technology-driven, evidence becoming increasingly electronic, cybercrime evolving and artificial intelligence beginning to influence legal research and professional practice.
Justice Matanda-Moyo called upon future legal professionals to be knowledgeable, technologically competent and ethically grounded.
Sixty graduates obtained National Certificates and National Diplomas in Applied Law, Mineral Law and Policy. The graduating class comprised 20 males and 40 females. Among the graduates was ZANU PF Harare provincial deputy secretary for Local Governance, Devolution and Housing, Cde Willard Gova.
Justice Matanda-Moyo commended ZILS for creating an educational pathway that demonstrates an important principle: access to legal education and professional development should not be confined to a single academic route.
She said the collaboration between ZILS and the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ) demonstrates the importance of institutional cooperation in developing professional competence. “The NPAZ has, therefore, been privileged to contribute to the practical development of ZILS students through attachment opportunities at various NPAZ stations across the country.
“The figures are significant: of the 180 National Diploma graduates produced by ZILS, 155 have undertaken practical attachment at the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe,” she said.
Through these attachments, students have moved beyond theory into the active operations of the criminal justice system, gaining first-hand experience with legal procedures, prosecutorial administration, file management, confidentiality, professional ethics and the standards expected within a constitutional agency responsible for criminal prosecutions.
Justice Matanda-Moyo said the country’s development depends on robust institutions, ethical businesses and a justice system anchored by trustworthy legal professionals.
“This is precisely why institutions like ZILS are essential to our national agenda. Because the legal sector safeguards fundamental rights, property and livelihoods, it demands absolute integrity,” she said.
Vision 2030, she added, cannot be achieved by the Government alone, but must be built by future generations equipped with the knowledge, skills and values necessary to drive national development.
