Zanzibar — ZANZIBAR President Hussein Mwinyi has expressed hope that the proposed repeal of the Zanzibar Kadhi's Court Act 2017 will reduce challenges in the dispensation of justice in the Isles.
Dr Mwinyi said this at the Zanzibar State House here yesterday, when he met with members of the Committee to review the Act, insisting that collecting views from different stakeholders remains crucial in having acceptable Kadhi's law.
"It is my hope that due to good will and constructive views, Zanzibar will have practicable law to serve people as jurisdiction of the court," Dr Mwinyi told the committee led by senior attorney Saleh Mbaraka.
Several challenges have been revealed and claimed to face the Kadhis' courts in the administration of justice, according to some stakeholders prompting call for complete repeal of the Act 2017.
The challenges include poor working environment, absence of proper rules to be applicable in Kadhi's courts, lack of gender representation of litigants in courts, and lack of proper definition of matrimonial assets.
President Mwinyi, who is also the Chairman of Revolutionary Council, promised full support to the review process.
"When the draft is brought to the Revolutionary Council, members of the council will have the opportunity to discuss and give advice on areas that should be considered or dropped. We will fully participate in this process," he said.
Dr Mwinyi thanked the members of the Kadhi's Court Act review committee for their determination to come up with a new law.
On his part, Zanzibar Chief Justice Khamis Ramadhan Abdalla said reforms aim to improve efficiency of the court.
When briefing the president about the process of reviewing the Kadhi's Court Act, Advocate Saleh Mbaraka said the aim is also to improve the capacity of seeking justice within the Kadhi courts as well as addressing backlog and delays of hearing cases.
Meanwhile, President Mwinyi on Monday met members of the Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission (TAEC) Board, promising that his government will fully cooperate with the commission, for it to be able to effectively exercise its duties.
"The government, through the Ministry of Health, will ensure that the commission fully implements its responsibilities here in Zanzibar," Dr Mwinyi said as he commended the commission for implementing its roles well.
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It was the familiarization visit to the Zanzibar State House, where Dr Mwinyi said despite some challenges, the TAEC has been performing well such as minimizing bureaucracy in issuing permits.
He also thanked TAEC for the effective control of use of radiation, saying that it is very important to safe guard people's health.
He explained that the government will continue to monitor to ensure that the plot in Dunga village, Unguja Central District allocated for the TAEC building construction project, is protected.
The Zanzibar Minister for Health, Nassor Ahmed Mazrui also commended the Board for the good implementation of its duties in Zanzibar, especially in terms of importing goods (requiring its permit) from mainland Tanzania.
TAEC Board Chairman Prof Lazaro Simon Petro said they are implementing several projects in Zanzibar, including putting up buildings in Dunga village, which is expected to cost more than 3.03bn/-
