By Edgar Gweshe
Zimbabwe’s judicial system is in disarray and the development has negatively affected the country’s justice delivery system, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Jessie Majome has said.
Majome, who is also the Legislator for Harare West, made the remarks during the inaugural +263 Dialogue Series hosted by Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) in the capital on Wednesday.
The dialogue series are aimed at providing a platform for discussion of national issues and Wednesday’s discussion was held under the theme: “Job losses and the Labour Amendment Bill: Politics, Law or Economics”.
Majome said that as a result of a number of “blockages” within the justice delivery system, there was a huge backlog of cases especially at the country’s Labour Court.
This, she admitted, had affected finalization of a number of labour issues and the trend has affected retrenched workers who have to wait for a couple of years before finalization of their cases.
“Our justice system needs to be unblocked. As a portfolio committee, we are currently looking into the state of the country’s justice system to see the obstacles that are there and we will also be giving recommendations on what needs to be done,” said Majome.
She urged members of the public to come forward with complaints as well as possible recommendations.
“We are accepting complaints from the public. We would like to urge members of the public that if they have complaints or recommendations, they can write to the Clerk of Parliament and we will be able to get your complaints,” said Majome.
Meanwhile, CiZC Executive Director, Dr. Phillan Zamchiya said the organisation will continue engaging the government to deliver.
“We will be launching the Zim Government Barometer and this is where we are going to knock on the government’s door and make sure that they act and if they do not act, that is when they will face the wrath of the citizens.
“But we will not just sit and think that the government will provide all the solutions. We are also going to come out with solid alternative economic policies to try and fix the problems the country faces,” said Zamchiya.
CiZC is set to launch its alternative economic blueprint, the Zimbabwe Social Market Agenda for Recovery and Transformation (ZimSmart).
“On ZimSmart, we shall push for smart ideas for a smart economy, smart liberal laws, smart government institutions, smart independent commissions, smart education and I need to emphasise that we do not forget that there are other challenges that this country is facing. We also want the safe return of those who have disappeared like Itai Dzamara,” said Zamchiya.
