Zanzibar — ZANZIBAR President Dr Hussein Mwinyi has pledged immediate measures to support legal aid services in the country.
President Mwinyi said on Saturday, at the climax of the Legal Aid Service week here in response to the service providers' complaints over difficult working environment.
"We will look at the best temporary means to address your operational challenges pending the long-term measures," President Mwinyi said.
Dr Mwinyi promised to support legal aid service providers with office supplies and transport to ease their operations.
The president further pledged review of the 2017 Legal Aid Service Policy and the Legal Aid Service Act, 2018 to create conducive environment for provision of legal aid services, especially for the poor who can hardly afford the cost of legal services.
The envisaged reviews, President Mwinyi said, will provide for establishment of the legal aid service fund, through which funding will be availed to make the services sustainable and highly productive to the society.
The President asked members of the public to work closely with legal aid service providers, ordering all government employees to provide the required support.
He described legal aid services as the backbone of dispensing justice, with the service providers serving as a critical link for availability of legal services especially for the poor, people with disability and other special groups.
Dr Mwinyi commended the President's Office, constitution, legal, public service and good governance as well as all stakeholders in legal aid services for the great job they are doing to ensure justice prevails in the community.
He reminded the office to efficiently manage and coordinate the service provision in close collaboration with other stakeholders.
He said, "Despite the great achievements we have registered, we still have the obligation to manage the services and ensure they are provided as per existing laws and regulations."
During the week celebrations, stakeholders visited various places, including prisons and police stations, to offer legal aid services to the needy in Unguja and Pemba.
