Boost planned for court services

National

THE Magisterial Services Organisational Transformation Programme aims to enhance the quality and availability of district court services in the country, says Chief Magistrate Nerrie Eliakim.
She told Minister for Justice and Attorney-General Davis Steven during a recent visit to the Magisterial Services headquarters that the programme was being implemented by the magisterial services.
“The effort will be pursued broadly through closing gaps in basic processes and systems, realigning service focus by being transparent with service standards, harnessing practical information and monitoring tools, and building culture to sustain the commitment to service,” Eliakim said.
“Work has already commenced on laying the foundation with internal publication of case time standards, updating critical manuals and operating procedure guidelines and also stakeholder consultations to build critical partnerships.”
Eliakim said that in 2015, with the support of the Justice Services and Stability for Development, an organisational situational analysis was conducted and a report published.
“The report recommended drastic action through a whole range of organisational transformation to build capacity and fill critical gaps that deprived the organisation of its ability to meet the growth of demand for district court services,” she said.
Eliakim said the programme was ready for implementation with final consultations with the Minister and the Justice Department Secretary under way.
She said the Government priority had been service presence and visibility in the districts.
“The national law and justice strategy supports this by emphasising a coordinated sector approach to minimise resource wastage and assure sustainability of deployed rural services,” she said.
“Taking heed of this sectoral strategy, the organisational transformation programme is therefore focused on developing court service deployment template and models for ease of interfacing with law and justice sector partners for rapid development.”