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Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
THE construction of a magistrates’ court building in the high-density suburb of Cowdray Park in Bulawayo has started as the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) moves towards decentralising the justice delivery system and bring it to the people in line with their key strategic plan of justice for all.
The development comes after the Bulawayo City Council granted the JSC sites for the construction of two courthouses with the other one in Emganwini. The sites’ purchase prices were determined by Government’s 10 percent commonage, where the Government is discounted for public service amenities.
Chief Justice Luke Malaba who was accompanied by the JSC Secretary Mr Walter Chikwanha visited the site on Thursday where excavation works were underway signaling the start of the construction process which is expected to be completed within a year.
In an interview on the sidelines of the tour, Mr Chikwanha said the construction of the courthouse at Cowdray Park was informed by the growing population in the area.
“What has happened is that we have realised that we are coming short in terms of courthouses in Bulawayo, for example we only have Tredgold Magistrates’ Court and Western Commonage in Bulawayo. If you are going to compare that with the population that constitutes the city, it is no longer corresponding very well. So, we take the position that we need to expand and build more courthouses in the city. We have identified two places, in Cowdray Park and in Emganwini. We have decided to start construction here in Cowdray Park from the advice we have been given as this area is more populated in the hope that the people of this area are going to benefit including the surrounding areas,” said Mr Chikwanha.
He said the population demographics indicated phenomenal growth that was taking place in the western suburbs and it was only proper in terms of enhancing access to justice that the people were provided with the necessary public facilities that they required for their everyday lives.
“So, the advantage is that we are enhancing access to justice, we are bringing justice to the people. The type of courthouse we are building here is different from other courthouses. You will realise in places like Tsholotsho, Binga, Filabusi and Lupane we built courthouses with two court rooms but here we have decided to go bigger in line with the reasons I gave.
The courthouse we are constructing will have three courtrooms and we are going to deploy three magistrates. It will have various offices including a Victim Friendly Court and a victim friendly room for vulnerable children and vulnerable witnesses. We are also going to build a cell block which we are going to hand over to the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services for their use. We are also going to have offices for the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the National Prosecuting Authority and the community services offices,” said Mr Chikwanha.
Chief Justice Malaba and Mr Chikwanha also travelled to Gwanda to assess progress being made in the construction of the Gwanda Court Complex which is now 47 percent complete. Speaking after the tour Chief Justice Malaba said the complex was one of most important projects being undertaken in Matabeleland South particularly in the Gwanda area. He said the coming
in of the Second Republic had witnessed significant progress being made to a project that had been stalled for almost two decades.
“It is a flagship project for the Judicial Services Commission and it is being driven by the Government as part of the National Development Strategy 1. The construction of this court started about two decades ago but not much progress took place and I can say it was abandoned at some stage. When the New Dispensation came in and I took over the headship of the judiciary, I decided that this was a very important project not to be abandoned and a decision was made with Government support that we should revive this project.
We set timeframes for it as we wanted it to be completed quickly. After we realised that the previous contractor had no capacity to complete the project within our stipulated time frames, we then engaged another indigenous contractor through the proper tendering procedures. The tender was thus given a new contractor and since they took over there has been significant process,” said Chief Justice Malaba.
He said the Government’s view was that the complex should be completed by March next year. Project Architect in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works Mr Kudakwashe Kutywayo said they have done concrete work on the ground floor and the basement and they expect in the next three months to have completed the magistrate’s offices wing.
“In terms of percentages we are now 47 percent complete with the project and expect to entirely complete it in the next 12 months. The contractor is working very well, we are impressed with the quality, they try to do all the processes involved. As the design and technical team, we try and ensure that we do our inspections on time so that we do not delay the contractor,” he said. — @nyeve14
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