By Guardian Reporter , The Guardian
THE World Bank has approved $30m new financing to improve access to justice, efficiency, and transparency of judicial services for Zanzibar.
Nathan Belete, the World Bank zonal director for Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe said in a statement yesterday that the support builds on current reforms supported by the global creditor since 2016.
Since 2016, the World Bank has been supporting the judiciary through the ‘citizen centric judicial modernization and justice service delivery’ (CCJMP) enabling the innovative use of mobile court services (‘justice-on-wheels’) for rural and hard-to-reach areas, he said.
The method provides easier and faster access to judicial services for vulnerable groups such as women and the poor, with case clearance rates dropping to 30 days compared to 120 days in a regular court. The time spent in a court has come down to four hours from 96 hours, earlier, the statement indicated, highlighting the construction of six Integrated Justice Centers (IJCs).
It was the first ever IJC in Africa dedicated to matrimonial, probate and family justice services, where 18 subordinate courts were built covering vast rural areas.
“Citizens’ access to High Court services has increased from 55 percent to 77 percent, while transparency has improved through increased online publication of High Court and Court of Appeal decisions from below five percent to 85 percent,” it said.
In addition, the backlog in cases has been cut by 50 percent, while the project has yielded a 27 percent increase in citizen confidence in justice services on the basis of opinion surveys, it explained.
The credit programme taking several years now recognize the importance of accountable and effective justice institutions and efficient procedures, “fostering an enabling environment for increased private sector investment,” it stated.
“It will also contribute to unlocking the full economic potential of citizens and businesses,” the director affirmed, noting that the Zanzibar Judicial Modernization Project (Zi-JUMP) will strengthen access to justice by expanding the geographic coverage of court services.
This will involve the construction of five ‘smart courts,’ boost alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and support the development of a gender justice strategy, he further noted.
The project will also enhance court efficiency by investing in training for court staff, streamlining procedures, automatic case management systems and institutionalizing a performance management system.
The systems will facilitate collaboration between institutions, raise public awareness on improved judicial services, seeking out robust citizen feedback mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability, he asserted.
Benjamin Mtesigwa, a World Bank senior governance specialist and task team leader said that the Zanzibar project builds on the successes of the CCJMP, to prioritise early engagement with key stakeholders to identify critical gaps in judicial services and tailor interventions to address them directly.
“The citizen-centric approach supports the establishment of effective public and stakeholder feedback mechanisms to inform decision-making and monitor performance, while strong data collection systems and analytics will provide crucial insights into service delivery bottlenecks, allowing for targeted improvements,” he added.
No comments :
Post a Comment