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Mozambique: Justice System Must Come Closer to Citizens
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Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)
11 December 2007
Posted to the web 11 December 2007
Maputo
The Mozambican government is investing in the training of magistrates as a means to guarantee a good and speedy justice service, accessible to all citizens on equal terms, according to Justice Minister Esperanca Machavela.
Speaking on Monday, at the closing session of a course for Magistrates, at the Legal and Judicial Training Centre (CFJJ), in the southern city of Matola, Machavela said that this is a condition for the Mozambican justice system to come closer to citizens and shake off its current lethargy.
There were 78 graduates, who had completed courses for entry into careers as judges or prosecutors, including students from other Portuguese speaking countries.
Machavela insisted that this was a good opportunity to think about giving every citizen equal opportunities for access to justice, which implies reducing the distances people have to travel to reach the nearest court, and dealing with the financial problems that prevent many people from resorting to the legal system.
"The government regards the Justice system as essential for the welfare that we want for the country, and thus I urge all trainees, as from now, to start being agents of change for the better, and to guarantee a credible and reliable system", she said.
Machavela added that the newly trained staff should start their career in the districts, which the government has determined should be poles of development, and they should develop a spirit of team work and a permanent will to learn.
"A magistrate is an educator. He should be able to listen, and always willing to learn. He must keep his integrity and pay heed to the fundamental values of social justice that characterize the state", said Machavela.
The director of the CFJJ, Bemvinda Levy, urged the future magistrates to be courteous, prudent and to show maturity in their analyses.
She warned the trainees of the general perception in Mozambican society that the legal system is riddled with corruption. That meant they had to be on their guard against corrupt behaviour.
"The start of a professional life is accompanied by many expectations, and the most dominant of these concerns financial and material stability", Levy said. "It's true that your wages will be higher than the average, but for some that may be very little".
The desire for more, she warned, if not handled properly could lead people to embark on a path of corruption.
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As for conditions during the course, some of the students complained of the late supply of support materials, shortage of books, late payment of the allowances, and difficult access to the internet, due to the shortage of computers in the CFJJ.
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| Copyright © 2007 Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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