Justice Suffers From A Lack Of Funding

AT the opening of the 2006 session of the High Court, the Honourable Judge President, Judge Damaseb, dealt with the state of affairs in our administration of justice and expressed his regret that more funds are not made available by the State to ensure a system of the administration of justice that is as efficient and effective as it should be.

The word “justice” appears in our national crest as one of the three main pillars on which our multi-ethnic society rests (unity, liberty, justice). It is thus a pity to see that the State now squanders another N$86 million on Air Namibia while other services essential for the proper running of the State are in a desolate condition because of lack of funds: 1.At the High Court the exceptionally competent and experienced Registrar and the similarly competent and experienced Assistant Registrar are leaving, which will cause a void that will lead to considerable administrative problems at that court.If they would get a proper salary commensurate with their substantial responsibilities and immense workload they would probably stay, but the Judge President said that the Government says it has no money to pay more realistic salaries to administrators and judges of the court.2.At the Master’s Office some of the most experienced staff have already left.Such people are not easily replaceable because you cannot learn to be a Master or a Registrar like you can learn to be a cook or an attorney.Their work is exclusive and competence and efficiency in those positions is only acquired through many years of practical experience.3.At the Magistrate’s Court numerous of the most experienced Magistrates and Prosecutors have left.As a consequence there are, I am told, 17 000 pending criminal cases and it takes six months or more before you get a hearing.The reason for this state of affairs is that the Prosecutors and Magistrates get a remuneration package which is a fraction of what they would earn as legal advisers to private companies or parastatals.4.Outside Windhoek the position is even worse.You may travel to the other towns only to find that the cases are postponed because there are no Magistrates or Prosecutors available.5.In the Labour Court you can wait one to two years before your case comes up.The reason is lack of qualified Magistrates.6.In the Maintenance Court the cases of hundreds of women desperate to get a fair maintenance order to be able to feed and clothe their children are postponed over and over again, the staff is overworked and the Magistrates unmotivated.7. In the High Court you wait two to three years merely for a Judge to hand down a judgment, apparently because the Judges are swamped with appeals and reviews from the lower courts arising from inexperienced Magistrates and Prosecutors.Not enough Judges are appointed to deal with the volume of work because the Ministry of Justice says it has no funds to pay for the Judges, just as it claims to have no money to pay a more realistic salary for the Magistrates, Prosecutors, Master’s staff and High Court Administrative staff.A court system that does not function smoothly and ensure prompt attention to all cases placed before it is causing grave injustice and harshness, particularly to the underprivileged members of our community.In other areas of State responsibility such as Education, Health Services, Communication etc, the situation is not much different, yet the Government prefers to waste millions and millions of dollars to patch up the costly administrative and management mistakes of the inexperienced and irresponsible management of the parastatals such as Air Namibia, or the investment companies and on all those wasteful and incompetent “managers” whose manoeuvres and manipulations have been the topic of many articles and discussions in the past year.When will the new team start governing the country in a manner that makes economic sense? To manage a company profitably is not an easy matter and that is why our politicians should show special respect to the private sector, because in the private sector we cannot make losses like they do in the parastatals as there is no one to guarantee payment for the losses we would make.If you cannot manage a company profitably, the answer is insolvency and a stop of business.The same principle should at least apply to the management team of parastatals when they make losses on a repeated basis, they should be requested to vacate their positions and make room for more competent managers.A VAATZ WindhoekIt is thus a pity to see that the State now squanders another N$86 million on Air Namibia while other services essential for the proper running of the State are in a desolate condition because of lack of funds: 1.At the High Court the exceptionally competent and experienced Registrar and the similarly competent and experienced Assistant Registrar are leaving, which will cause a void that will lead to considerable administrative problems at that court.If they would get a proper salary commensurate with their substantial responsibilities and immense workload they would probably stay, but the Judge President said that the Government says it has no money to pay more realistic salaries to administrators and judges of the court.2.At the Master’s Office some of the most experienced staff have already left.Such people are not easily replaceable because you cannot learn to be a Master or a Registrar like you can learn to be a cook or an attorney.Their work is exclusive and competence and efficiency in those positions is only acquired through many years of practical experience.3.At the Magistrate’s Court numerous of the most experienced Magistrates and Prosecutors have left.As a consequence there are, I am told, 17 000 pending criminal cases and it takes six months or more before you get a hearing.The reason for this state of affairs is that the Prosecutors and Magistrates get a remuneration package which is a fraction of what they would earn as legal advisers to private companies or parastatals.4.Outside Windhoek the position is even worse.You may travel to the other towns only to find that the cases are postponed because there are no Magistrates or Prosecutors available.5.In the Labour Court you can wait one to two years before your case comes up.The reason is lack of qualified Magistrates.6.In the Maintenance Court the cases of hundreds of women desperate to get a fair maintenance order to be able to feed and clothe their children are postponed over and over again, the staff is overworked and the Magistrates unmotivated.7. In the High Court you wait two to three years merely for a Judge to hand down a judgment, apparently because the Judges are swamped with appeals and reviews from the lower courts arising from inexperienced Magistrates and Prosecutors.Not enough Judges are appointed to deal with the volume of work because the Ministry of Justice says it has no funds to pay for the Judges, just as it claims to have no money to pay a more realistic salary for the Magistrates, Prosecutors, Master’s staff and High Court Administrative staff.A court system that does not function smoothly and ensure prompt attention to all cases placed before it is causing grave injustice and harshness, particularly to the underprivileged members of our community.In other areas of State responsibility such as Education, Health Services, Communication etc, the situation is not much different, yet the Government prefers to waste millions and millions of dollars to patch up the costly administrative and management mistakes of the inexperienced and irresponsible management of the parastatals such as Air Namibia, or the investment companies and on all those wasteful and incompetent “managers” whose manoeuvres and manipulations have been the topic of many articles and discussions in the past year.When will the new team start governing the country in a manner that makes economic sense? To manage a company profitably is not an easy matter and that is why our politicians should show special respect to the private sector, because in the private sector we cannot make losses like they do in the parastatals as there is no one to guarantee payment for the losses we would make.If you cannot manage a company profitably, the answer is insolvency and a stop of business.The same principle should at least apply to the management team of parastatals when they make losses on a repeated basis, they should be requested to vacate their positions and make room for more competent managers.A VAATZ Windhoek