Acting Prosecutor General, Advocate Ray Goba has blasted government for neglecting the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) office while bemoaning the poor working conditions of the employees.
Advocate Goba made the remarks during his interview for the position of Prosecutor General on Monday in Harare.
“The NPA offices are in a deplorable state and the working conditions of workers are poor. Government needs to step up and support the NPA so that its members live a decent life.
“Imagine working in an office where the ceiling looks like it can fall off at any time and there is water on the floors every day, how can you work to the best of your abilities?” questioned Goba who was responding to commissioner Lloyd Mhishi’s question on what he(Goba) had to offer if appointed the PG.
“We need adequate infrastructure and move away from the rented offices we are currently using. The conditions of the PG’s office are also in shambles, we cannot work in such an environment and that needs to be looked into without delay,” he loathed as he described himself as an experienced lawyer with a great vision for the National Prosecuting Authority.
Goba pledged to push for better working conditions of workers if and when chosen to be the substantive PG adding that government was not taking the plight of NPA workers seriously.
He called on government to immediately replace the old and derelict computers with new and modern ones saying the ones available were making it difficult for the NPA to execute the day to day duties of the office.
However, Goba failed to defend his previous conviction on charges of obstruction of justice in Namibia in 2002.
Goba said the conviction was an unfortunate incident that should not have happened in the first place and was never regarded as serious by the Namibian authorities, who kept him on his job as director of public prosecutions.
“I cannot judge for myself how much weight the conviction should be accorded,” he said.
“The conviction arose out of a minor road traffic offence and the Namibian authorities did not consider it serious, as they did not dismiss me from employment, but went on to promote me not once, but twice after the conviction,”
Goba spoke on the need to align laws with the constitution, increase the budget allocation for better conditions of service for the authority’s employees and the need to have Degreed prosecutors.
Goba is among seven candidates interviewed for the position of Prosecutor General by the Judicial Service Commission on Monday with the other other six being Charles Chinyama, Misheck Hogwe, Wilson Manase, Tecler Mapota, Peter Mafunda and Florence Ziyambi.
